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Preserving Traditions (2010)

When Caroline Rust was a child she used to play with her grandmother’s lipsticks. She says she can still recall their waxy scent. Girls and women seem to have an innate desire to add color to their faces and lips. Curious as to why, is it to feel grown-up, pretty, pampered, feminine, or to attract attention? Exploring this aspect of femininity, this piece's influence is the ritual of women wearing lipstick, coloring their lips, and employing their lips for expression. This installation captures some of the nuances of a woman’s pair of lips. Lips naturally show emotion and after adding lipstick to them a woman’s lips can appear sexy, sad, alluring, pursed and cold, innocent, or friendly. As children playing with cosmetics is one thing, as we mature it becomes another.

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© 2023 by Caroline Rust. 

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