Girl with a Basket of Junk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Brianna Hubbard

Year 9

School: Governor Stirling Senior High School

Medium: Digital photography

Artist statement: Girl with a Basket of junk¬Ø\_(„ÉÑ)_/¬Ø is an appropriation of Boy with a Basket of Fruit, a famous Renaissance artwork painted by Michelangelo Caravaggio in 1593. Portraits of the Renaissance period depict their subjects in a realistic fashion whilst capturing the social, political and cultural aspects of the time. The original painting shows a young boy dressed in typical clothing of the 15th century and holding a basket of overflowing with ripe fruit. The work symbolises youth and abundance. My photographic appropriation references the original painting’s composition and subject matter, but replaces the abundant basket of fruit with and abundance of junk food, making a comment on our modern view of youth and idolising a life of excess. Calling into question our values and the future, the characters in the title reflect our habit of reducing a complex issue into an uncaring emoji.