The night time is serene and beautiful, familiar landscapes distort under the glow of colourful lights and the dark shadows they cast and the world feels still and peaceful. As a woman I find the night both beautiful and terrifying; I have heard stories of women attacked under the cover of darkness all my life, I have been taught to always stay alert, to be fearful and to follow the lights home. We are in crisis, women live with a subconscious level of fear and caution that is only heightened at night, in particular many women are fearful of strangers hidden in the shadows. Margaret Attwood writes that "when she asked a male friend why men feel threatened by women, he answered, "they are afraid women will laugh at them.” When she asked a group of women why they feel threatened by men, they said, "we're afraid of being killed." (Dickinson, 1996) This stark difference forms the core issue I address in my series, why do women feel so fearful for their lives while men do not.
In my work I explore the duality of artificial lighting in relation to women’s feeling of fear and safety. My paintings capture the nighttime landscapes I encounter on my walks home and the different sources of light I utilize to create a “safer” path. While the lights make me feel as though I am somewhat protected from the shadows, I still feel fear and dread rising when they start to flicker on. In my paintings I also seek to capture a snapshot of the beauty of the nighttime landscape, something I feel I cannot appreciate in real time.
