Nicola Hicks
Recovered Memory
1996-97
Description
We know well from the children's tale of Little Red Riding Hood that the Wolf assumes the identity of Grandmother by dressing in her clothes. This late twentieth-century fox in the Sussex woodland looks meek and mild in a frock, and because of the fairy story we can safely suppose that the fox's gender is male. The polite encounter between disguised male adult and female child and the courtesy of their slight curtsies leads us to consider the possibility of sinister intent on the one hand and innocence with trust on the other. Horror experienced at second hand through bedtime stories in the safety of the nursery can unfortunately be a reality today.
In his catalogue essay to Nicola Hicks's exhibition, Furtive Imagination, held at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, in 1997, Michael Simpson writes: 'In today's society we have become uncomfortably conscious of the power adults can have physically, emotionally and sexually over children . . . Tens of thousands of adults throughout the world are being encouraged by the psychoanalysts to "recover" memories stored away beneath layers of denial.' The encounter between child and adult in this sculpture suggests that memory may be recovered through simply acknowledging the traditional tale, and on a more complex level may reveal truths about ourselves.
The original sculpture from which this bronze version is cast was modelled in plaster and straw built on a wire framework. The straw gives texture and bulk to the plaster and Hicks allows the stalks to be revealed in some portions of the figures. The back of the child's dress and the fox's head are enlivened by the the way in which the straw springs free. Patinated red for the child and grey for the fox, the colouring suggests that their roles may be reversed.
