Honors Theses
Date of Award
Fall 12-5-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Art and Art History
First Advisor
Philip Jackson
Second Advisor
Brooke Alexander
Third Advisor
Theresa Starkey
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The Hidden in a Handbag exhibition is comprised of a series of three medium size paintings using a heightened color palette. The painting style used for the artwork draws on elements of Photorealism as pioneered by Aubrey Flack. My work focuses on the personal act of revealing the contents of a woman’s spilled purse. By requesting that friends and family share the spilled contents of their purses without alteration, as well as the contents of my own purse, I capture a raw and private glimpse into these women’s daily lives. These paintings are rendered in larger-than-life detail, so that these seemingly random compilations of miscellaneous objects transform into narrative portraits of the daily lives they represent. I have purposely removed the purse from the image. In this way, my paintings underscore a reality within the purse, which is far more revealing than the superficial image it projects.
Through the examination of the contents of these spilled purses, my work seeks to acknowledge a world where women are relentlessly pressured to mask the reality of their imperfections. My art reveals the stark reality of the societal molds imposed on women, using everyday objects as symbols to challenge and critique their roles and expectations. All too often, we feel pressure not to show the truth of who we are and so, just like the contents of our purses, we keep the contents of our lives hidden from the view of the world. In this body of work, I explore how we mask our “real” selves behind a façade of polished perfection. This process of masking who we are extends to how women present themselves publicly – curating an image that aligns with societal expectations while concealing the more genuine, unfiltered aspects of our personalities.
Recommended Citation
Landes, Emmaline, "Hidden in a Handbag" (2024). Honors Theses. 3193.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3193
