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Annie's paintings
reflect her interests in power, manipulation and the role of the
individual in inherited belief systems. It is important for Annie to
examine the duality of truth and falsehood throughout her work,
which she does by creating 'portraits' which may or may not be based
on real documentation.
The series ‘Boys’, in
which dictators are depicted as children, looks at purity and
corruption and, in particular, the notion of the 'Innocent Child'.
The ‘Girls’ collection looks at the continuing media-led
sexualisation of childhood and raises questions about our collusion
in the deification and commodification of female child stars, from
Shirley Temple to Britney Spears. The process of self invention,
innocence and culpability touches both series differently.
The works in ‘Absolute
Democracy’, ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ and ‘Gods & Aliens’ explore notions
of authority and look at our acceptance of inherited power in
different guises, from political dynasties and royalty to the
Church. ‘Gods & Aliens’ compares the respect afforded to religious
groups for their beliefs in gods with the ridicule given to those
who believe in aliens.
‘All the Presidents’
Girls’ depicts presidential mistresses from the eighteenth century
to the 1990s, reminding us that while wars rage on around us, our
leaders are busy enjoying and hiding their duplicitous affairs. The
series 'Swans' (drawn from the name of an American extreme makeover
TV series), 'Vamps & Innocents' and the ‘WAMPAS Baby Stars’ each
look at different aspects of the American dream, the birth of
celebrity and the role of women in those processes.
Annie hopes that her
images will raise questions about how and why a person, or group of
persons, behaves in a certain way. As Foucault explained, a person’s
identity is not preset – rather, it is determined by the
interactions of a person with another and is, therefore, a shifting
temporary construction. Annie's work looks at ideas of personal
responsibility within structures determined by time and place and
the role of those who create those structures.
Previous press releases:
Manumission
Ship of Fools
WAMPAS Baby Stars
Swans
Girls
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