Skinny White Girl II
acrylic and emulsion on canvas
21" x 28"
2017
acrylic and emulsion on canvas
21" x 28"
2017
Private collection
This painting is Collins' re-imagination of his earlier work "Skinny White Girl I" in 2011. "Skinny White Girl II" is a further experiment in the high-contrast, restrained palette, stencil-like style that Collins has been exploring for over a decade. He was inspired again by French artist, Christopher Dombres' 2007 artwork titled, "Got Coke?". Collins has long admired Dombres' polemic, pop designs.
Here, again, Collins captures the haunting vacancy of supermodel, Kate Moss's gaze. Yet, Collins adds bleary eyes of his own creation and a background suggestive of skin, transforming Skinny White Girl I into Skinny White Girl II. The composition remains spare but is softer.
The title of this artwork is a nod to Dombres' illustration and to another name for cocaine. The title also alludes to Moss herself, to her 2005 cocaine use scandal and to her infamous quote, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."
