THE FINAL GIRLS
Full Series Name and Medium Details:
“The Final Girls”
10”x10” stretched canvas
Acrylic Paint and Acrylic Paint Pens
Matte Varnish
Swarovski Crystals and Resin Adhesive
How to Commission a Final Girl Painting:
Use the contact form to commission your own Final Girl painting.
These commissions are $300 for a bespoke 10”x10” canvas painting of your choice of final girl complete with hand-applied crystals.m(Shipping is included in this price. Invoices sent via PayPal after commission request is completed.)
About the Artwork:
“The Final Girls” series of paintings is a commentary on Intersectional Feminism via the Final Girls Trope in Horror Films. Each character is painted in black and white against a colourful backdrop adorned by twinkling crystal accents. The intent of greyscale figures is to create a bold, stark contrast illustrating the Final Girl’s ability to filter out the noise and rise above, and finding a balance between light and dark, good and evil. The use of sharp, triangular shards in vivid colors is meant not just for geometric and visual interest, but also as a rejection of the patriarchal value that women should be soft, quiet, and demure.
The colour palettes are selected from cinematic stills from each character’s film; these are sometimes selected from subtle imagery from the background or an article of clothing, or a fleeting moment, as our Final Girl often notices the small details others around her do not, and thus leading her to a life-saving revelation or clue to solve the crime. The gaping slash down the center is painted in red surrounded by red Swarovski Crystal blood splatter, representing not only the slasher sub-genre itself, but also tearing down the oppression and violence of the “Male Gaze'' and other misogynist viewpoints. The image of “death looming” is represented over the shoulder of each woman by a Swarovski Crystal Skull, but is smaller than the protagonist in order to represent them overcoming death and destruction.
A little bit about “The Final Girl Theory:”
The term “Final Girl” was coined by Carol J. Clover in 1992, in her book “Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film,” following her study of slasher horror films of the 1970s and 1980s. The final girl is the sole survivor of the protagonists in a horror film (or novel) chased by the villain, who then is allowed the chance for a “face off” with said villain, and ultimately is in a place of privilege to survive as the one of “moral superiority” amongst her costars/peers. The final girl is most often the virginal, pure, and least reckless of her friends (refusing sex, turning down alcohol or drugs, taking the “moral high ground” as opposed to her friends which indulge in frivolity.) She often has a gender neutral name, and acts in a manner usually reserved for male protagonists, saving the day and triumphing over evil. These women have lived through hell, and are the only person who lives to tell the tale. The final girl will survive in one of two ways: vanquishing the villain herself, or being saved from their evil clutches at the very last remaining moment.
Clover noted in her work that although early horror films saw Final Girls as the “damsel in distress” requiring a strong heroic male to intervene and bring her to safety, later films saw an evolution of the characters. The Final Girl has come into her own over the years, becoming more and more autonomous. Many of today’s modern final girls take their cues from intersectional feminism, most often owning their bodies, their sexuality, enforcing their independence, relishing personal freedom, and dismantling the patriarchy along the way. The Final Girl is even fast becoming the beloved star of her own rising sub-genre of Horror, fondly known as the “Good for Her” genre. As the Horror genre evolves with society’s rejection of traditional gender roles and consumption of women in media, and the emergence of more women filmmakers in general, our Final Girl trope is also subverted from “The Male Gaze” to “The Female Gaze.”
