YOUNG BEAUTY QUEENS
Discover untold stories hidden behind the opulent dresses of young beauty queens. I paint the crowns; you see the cracks in the image. Behind the stifling perfectionism of the pageantry world, you’ll find the vulnerable.
About this collection
Young beauty queens are a selection of paintings inspired by the hidden side of child beauty pageantry. The large oil paintings on aluminium boards showcase opulent ruffle dresses at first glance. At second glance, a ribbon around a little girl's waist evokes a measuring tape, and a sparkly crown takes the focus away from droplets of blood. Like an allegory for a woman’s life, there is more than meets the eye.
The Young Beauty Queens first debuted at the LA Art Show in Feb 2023, followed by a group show in Arcadia Contemporary Gallery in NY in April 2023
The painting Comparisons (60 x 70 cm, oil on aluminium panel) was showcased at the OXO Gallery in London for the finals of The British Art Prize 2023, where it was awarded “Highly commended.”
70 x 60 cm, oil on aluminium panel
27.5 x 23.6 in inches