Pineapples symbolize a lot of things...friendship, prosperity, wealth, hospitality, luxury, status, and--this is totally true--it is a secret way for swingers to identify each other.

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But this painting was inspired by a conversation I had with my husband. He told me that in high school boys compared a girl's "private parts" with a pineapple--sweet, sticky, and prickly. 

 

As a fully grown woman I am proud to be sweet, sticky, and prickly--among many other things--and wanted to celebrate my womanhood by painting a pineapple in all its glory and complexity.

 

To coin a drag queen phrase, "Bitch, I'm Everything!".

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Afterwards I found out that I'm not the first to "take back" the pineapple. In 2017 the British fashion designer Stella McCartney used the pineapple as a feminist icon. In fact, she put it smack on the crotch of a bikini bottom. Front and center.

 

My painting isn't that literal but I hope it does make the viewer think and wonder. Subtly is a beautiful thing. 

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