A series of Murals dedicated to my pre-teen obsessions and learned lessons painted on the walls of my childhood bedroom.
The Murals
Mural 1: Spinning Like Bella
Mural 2: Boys on my Wall
Mural 3: Predicting my Future
Painting my Pre-Teens is a mural series based on many phases growing up in the early 2000's, celebrating my obsessions by painting the things I learned on the walls of my childhood bedroom.
Spinning like Bella
A significant portion of my tween years was dedicated to vampires. At the time, vampire book series were incredibly popular, and I read through many of them.
Interestingly, it was through reading about Bella's struggles with depression that I realized I was experiencing it too. Her constant spinning and numbness were relatable.
Chloe Bartlett
“What remains in my childhood bedroom are only fractions of the obsessions that I had. After every phase I went through, I got rid of everything that reminded me of that time to move onto the next.”
Boys on my wall
Growing up my walls were coated in pictures of stars like Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers, so much so that you couldn't see the pink paint underneath.
When I first heard the Jonas Brothers, I thought I knew what love was. They became a craze, and every girl I knew was fighting over which brother they loved. Our bedrooms certainly reflected that specific obsession.
Chloe Bartlett
“Looking back and even today, it’s obvious there is a stigma that perpetuated things that girls liked. The pop culture that we loved so much became tainted and mocked for being a “girl thing”. Constantly being ridiculed by men.”
Predicting my future
Games like M.A.S.H were played all the time in middle school. Would we end up with 3 1/2 kids, married to Zac Efron, living in a shack? We wanted to know.
As pre-teens, we were fed a narrative about what our lives should be after school—that we should aspire to have a house, kids, and a job. Which is why we used every game to try and predict our future selves.
Chloe Bartlett
“Painting my pre-teens is about celebrating those obsessions, and validating the happiness they brought us during a difficult time.”
Website
The website highlights each obsession of my preteens, showcasing their color palette, themes, and interests. Through photos and videos, the website takes a deep dive into the process of making each mural, from sketching to painting.
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