Little Red Cap

Gina Litherland frequently explores the inner lives of women in her paintings, often inspired by their roles in fairy tales. Here, she imaginatively transforms the story of Little Red Riding Hood, so that the wolf and Red Riding Hood appear as companions rather than two beings destined for violence. For Litherland, the attraction of the Little Red Riding Hood story is its capacity to hold multiple meanings at once—some simple, some complex. “It can easily be reduced to a warning to children to not talk to strangers, ” she writes, but the story also contrasts the affection many people have for wilderness today with the fear it once inspired. Litherland sees common cause between animals and women, as both have been exploited and abused throughout history.