Garbage Girl explores the mental constrictions that we may place on ourselves in response to modern cultural idealism. Through the appropriation of mass media fashion portraiture, I examine the anxiety created between my draw to traditional beauty standards, the apprehension I feel toward perpetuating these standards, and my acknowledgement of the power they still hold over me despite my attempts to disengage with them. Garbage Girl reflects a tension created through the endeavour to reconcile external and internal realities and discover a genuine sense of self. By painting these portraits, I question the masks created in anticipation of self-empowerment, hoping to catch a glimpse of authenticity in the translation of paint to canvas. Garbage Girl is built through a series of mixed media layers. Recycled materials are used to create texture on the surface and in the creation of handmade patterned block prints. These materials originate from my own consumerist exploits; discarded packaging materials interrupt the pristine images created from the valued contents that once inhabited these very packages.
