Woman with Green Tie (Elizabeth Campbell) 1993–2010

Oil on canvas on board
67 x 57 cm

Woman with Green Tie (Elizabeth Campbell) 1993–2010 – Oil on canvas on board. – Victor Gordon – H67 x W57 cm

The model is purposefully depicted in a gender-ambiguous manner. This is indicated by her dressing in a male style jacket and wearing a knotted tie. The knot of the tie is the well known Windsor knot, usually the fashion sported by men. Though not exclusively male, the knot has a distinctively masculine appeal which exudes an inherently dominating confidence. Her jacket however is folded left over right which is a predominantly female form of dress. The desaturated mauve or purple of the jacket worn in conjunction with the green tie indicate the colours associated with the feminist movement. The purple and green together with the white of the shirt is a reference to the colours adopted by the suffragette movement. The faux leopard skin beret confirms a fashionable confidence as does the rich sensuous sanguine lipstick. Her eyes focus on something not made obvious and available, which eludes the viewer in the middle distance.