The Pink Bear

‘The Pink Bear’ has transformed a distant childhood memory of mine, by removing the bear from the context of a family portrait -  which remained for years in my mother’s bedroom draw -  and placing it into surroundings similar to that of a real bear.

In the forest the bear is no longer a mascot for a theme park or TV show but becomes a mystical figure of a fantasy make believe world. The Pink Bear is not a man in a costume, it is an alter ego. The partially costume dressed figure is the transformation between reality and make believe, innocence and corruption. The pink bear has a whimsical sense of playfulness through its association with childhood memories, yet remains firmly attached to adulthood through the tainted surfaces that surround the character in the abstract spaces of the paintings.