Louise Victor
Statement 2026
Umbrella Girls: Etudes

The OSS. Office of the Secret Service. Spies, espionage, my mom sworn to secrecy, except for the one time she told a story about paratroopers dropping behind enemy lines. 

I have that image embedded in my mind. And in this series I have transformed that image to speak to our time. The umbrella becomes both parachute and shelter, the descent both dangerous and liberating. The girls, floating in space bringing hope but also joy. 

But there is more to these paintings. They honor the girls and young women who have survived abuse, those who have found their way out of darkness into a certain freedom. Like my mom’s story of wartime courage, this is a narrative of bravery in the face of violence, of resilience when escape seems impossible. 

Survival is complex and personal, not always triumphant nor joyful, but always brave and courageous. So the mood shifts throughout the series, bright skies and optimism as well as uncertainty and caution. 

These are small female bodies in vast spaces, vulnerable bodies held aloft by fragile canopies, being carried forward by something stronger than gravity.