Alice Skinner
Biography
Alice Skinner is an illustrator, visual artist, and activist based in London. According to her website, Alice “creates tongue-in-cheek and digestible images as a social commentary on 21st century life and explores what it is to exist as a woman at this time”
(https://thisisaliceskinner.com/about/).
Alice’s Work
At first glance, Skinner’s work is aesthetically pleasing, drawing the viewer in with its vibrant color palette and distinctive typography. This was intentional as Alice described their “initial appeal as a kind of pretty pink packaging, which captures your attention long enough to consider her underlying message”. This is especially important in today’s world because of our shortened attention spans. Skinner says her “pretty pink packaging” technique is effective because of its ability to capture the viewer’s attention.
Alice’s work depicts a variety of scenes and messages ranging from ones that are relatable, such as watching Netflix, to ones that are more serious such as sexual harassment, consent, and the commodification of female bodies. Another key, prominent theme throughout Skinner’s work is female friendship.
(https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2019/04/16/alice-skinner-illustrator-interview/)
When discussing her inspiration for her work, Skinner revealed that she’s inspired by her “amazing, diverse and hilarious group of girlfriends”. She continues on to say “I think even now women are seen as competitive and are being pitted against each other, which could not be further from the truth in my life. My friends mould and shape my life and I think it’s so important to celebrate and praise them”.
Finally, when discussing her values, Skinner said, “I stand for ‘normal’ women. Women who may have never seen themselves within pop culture or the art world, and felt not good enough because of that. Women who never had a leg up or contacts and have had to build things completely by themselves”. Alice Skinner is such a powerful and successful artist because of her continued efforts to redefine what it means to be a woman.
