

Red Riding Hood
2018
Red Riding Hood stands alone in the forest, rendered in Swoon's signature papercut aesthetic through a letterpress process on heavyweight cotton rag paper. The figure carries the full weight of the fairy tale's psychological undertow, that primal sense of having wandered too far from warmth and light, from the familiar circle of safety represented by fire, voice, and community. Swoon's visual language strips the image to its essential tension, a solitary form surrounded by dense, encroaching darkness, inviting the viewer into the uncomfortable space between innocence and what lies just beyond the treeline. The work originates from a deeply personal mythology. Swoon has described the story of Red Riding Hood as something that burrowed into her subconscious during a nighttime walk in the woods while traveling with the Miss Rockaway Armada, the legendary collaborative raft journey down the Mississippi River. Finding herself too far from the campfire, the fairy tale reasserted itself not as childhood entertainment but as psychological shorthand for a specific and universal feeling: the dread of straying into the dense undergrowth of memory and the subconscious, knowing a confrontation with something unwanted is inevitable. The phrase "Red Riding Hood is in the forest" became a repeated mantra during the creation of a larger sound installation, and this figure was among those that lined its walls. The print edition grew directly from the original paper cut at the heart of that installation, making it a rare, intimate distillation of a much larger conceptual undertaking. Signed by the artist and produced in 2018, this letterpress print on cotton rag measures 48.3 by 43.2 centimeters and is currently available through Woodward Gallery. For collectors drawn to works that bridge street art's visual directness with genuine conceptual and narrative depth, this piece offers uncommon access to one of the most critically respected voices of her generation at a considered scale and price point.
- Medium
- Letterpress print on heavyweight cotton rag paper
- Sheet
- Signed
- Yes
- Location
- Woodward Gallery, New York, NY
- Spotted At
- Gallery · Woodward GalleryView on map
For Sale — $2000
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