White Squaw
White Squaw, 2014
Series of 24 Archival Pigment Print on archival photo paper & 24 used White Squaw books, 18 x 11 inches each
Edition of 3
White squaw is a series of prints based on the “adult western” romance novels published in the 1980s and 90’s under the same title. Featuring a promiscuous half-Native heroine, the book’s tag lines drop with cringe-worthy sexual innuendo.
The word squaw is a derogatory term that referred to the private parts of women. For Red Star, this work is about taking back ownership of the word and reframing the word to create a new context. With superficial satire, Red Star inserts herself as the lubricious heroine putting focus on the blatant racism and sexism still rampant in contemporary culture.
– Text by Dr. Jordan Amirkhani