“Cherchez La Femme”, 2025, 100cm × 120cm, oil on canvas, unframed
“Cherchez La Femme” is a sexist term in french culture which literally means “look for the woman”. It is a cliche in detective fiction, used to suggest that a mystery can be resolved by identifying the source - ie a woman/ often a femme fatale. The term suggested that women were ultimately at the root of all men’s problems/ wrongdoing. These days “Cherchez la femme” is being reclaimed by women who use it to call up the strong, self-assured woman within themselves, or similarly they might use the term to call out the gender disparities in french roles of leadership.
For me, this painting challenges how women are judged in society today, and throughout time. They are too vain, or have let themselves go. They take up too much space, or are too meek. Their bodies are technically private but ultimately designated for public consumption and their behaviour managed by public scrutiny.
Nonetheless, this wolf-pack of women reject all of the above and, unflinching in their stare, they dare the viewer to consider their own preconceptions about who and how women should be.
“Cherchez La Femme”, 2025, 100cm × 120cm, oil on canvas, unframed
“Cherchez La Femme” is a sexist term in french culture which literally means “look for the woman”. It is a cliche in detective fiction, used to suggest that a mystery can be resolved by identifying the source - ie a woman/ often a femme fatale. The term suggested that women were ultimately at the root of all men’s problems/ wrongdoing. These days “Cherchez la femme” is being reclaimed by women who use it to call up the strong, self-assured woman within themselves, or similarly they might use the term to call out the gender disparities in french roles of leadership.
For me, this painting challenges how women are judged in society today, and throughout time. They are too vain, or have let themselves go. They take up too much space, or are too meek. Their bodies are technically private but ultimately designated for public consumption and their behaviour managed by public scrutiny.
Nonetheless, this wolf-pack of women reject all of the above and, unflinching in their stare, they dare the viewer to consider their own preconceptions about who and how women should be.