Just a touch of slap 2

This series of work looks at how we view age and what language we use to describe people as the years pass. Our culture has imposed a vocabulary that gives men dignity and wisdom with time; women are treated more harshly. My starting point was Greek/Roman sculptures. A human figure was captured at its zenith, glorifying ideals of youth and beauty, by the sculptors of the time. Although ‘set in stone’ ageing still happens, over 2000 years physical perfection is replaced by a romantic ruin. By painting images of these statues I turn stone back into flesh but I keep the ageing process of the stone in the new figure; we come face to face with distinct, wise and powerful male torsos. My women, now ruined, fight to regain perfection and cover up the passage of time, because youth and beauty defines their place in society. How can we move our culture forward to value people for their contribution, not their looks?