Born

In this imposing color lithograph, Kiki Smith creates a new mythology from the well-known children's folktale Little Red Riding Hood. Smith visually and psycholgically merges human and animal as Red Riding Hood's grandmother fearlessly recovers her young charge from the belly of the now prone wolf. The scene is a metaphor for the rebirth and renewal, but may also represent sexual awakening, a theme common to Smith's work. Here, the figures of the grandmother and child are rendered as artist self-portraits, suggesting the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth.