"'Girlhood' expresses the free movement and expression that all children should have, and that is particularly denied to girls. What would it look like if children were raised with total assurance of unconditional love? What would this world be if girls were taught to love themselves, to freely move their bodies? My work deals with what is reclaimed from imposition, from the creativity that happens amidst oppression, and the color and movement of this life. Through painting various ecologies, I consider how humans relate to one another and to our environments. Many of my paintings mobilize flora and fauna as spiritual symbols, and even though 'Girlhood' is indoors, the element in the room is that which is makeshift. Nothing need be fancy or expensive for joy to happen---just a place to dance and some old blankets to cover a cold floor."

- Grace Freedson Ribeiro.
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Published 24th April, 2023.