HOT LIPS

As an artist who’s painting process is so fluid, the Hot Lips silhouette of Brigitte Bardot has become a grounding force; the constant while my exploration into different mediums and techniques are the variables.

Bardot has always captured my imagination, not for her undeniable beauty but for what she represented during a specific time in history. In our modern era, a woman in charge of her own sexuality is nothing new. We’ve seen it all before, with iconic female figures in the spotlight, from the striking, seductive androgyny of Grace Jones to the aggressive self-assertion of Madonna. Yet rewind 60 years, and the world, at least for females, was a very different place. In the post-war years, women were encouraged to be demure, lady-like, refined, and ultimately, non-sexual. Women who celebrated their sexuality were frowned upon, regarded as somehow debased and ‘unnatural’. Hot Lips depicts Bardot in her most iconic form, dominant and seductive.

For the first time, attitudes towards female sexuality were challenged; a whirlwind of conflicting opinions were raised and Bardot sat within it all; the calm, beautiful eye of the storm.