Small Talk

Year: Fall 2024
Dimensions: 16x20x1.5"
Medium: Acrylic and oil pastels

Artist Description of Work:
Small Talk continues my exploration of wildness, femininity, and the spaces where women navigate between authenticity and expectation. In this work, a woman appears composed—smiling, made-up, engaging in something seemingly delicate: the act of smelling a flower. But the surface belies a deeper tension. Her clenched jaw, exposed mind, and the red line across her throat suggest a quieter, more internal truth. The abstract composition reveals what isn’t said: a vibrant mind that cannot fully speak, the pressure to perform softness while holding something sharper beneath. The banana becomes both a playful and pointed symbol—an irreverent nod to cultural identity, and how ethnicity can be flattened or misunderstood in public perception. This piece, like the others in the Wildflowers series, speaks to the contradictions women often carry—expected to bloom with grace, while censoring parts of themselves to be more palatable.