Solo Show Joana Schneider: If you know who she is, it's Time for Botox

Joana Schneider will be showcasing her latest solo exhibition at Rademakers Gallery from June 1st to July 22nd, 2023. The exhibition, titled 'If you know who she is, it's Time for Botox' will feature a life-size installation inspired by the popular 90s toy, Polly Pocket.

As a child of the 90s, Schneider recalls the craze that surrounded Polly Pocket when the toy line was at the height of its popularity. Aimed primarily at young girls, the toy came in a variety of colorful shells with different interiors, clothes, and accessories. Children spent countless hours playing with their Polly Pocket toys, imagining themselves in fantastical scenarios.

Now, some 25 years later, Schneider seeks to transport her millennial audience into a life-size interpretation of the toy that captured her imagination so long ago. Her installation aims to evoke feelings of warmth, nostalgia, and childhood wish fulfillment, while also shedding critical light on the implications and influence of gendered objects of play and deeply-rooted expectations of beauty and youth.

Through her work, Schneider challenges the notion that certain objects or toys are inherently feminine or masculine, and questions the impact of these gendered expectations on our society. By creating a life-size Polly Pocket installation, she invites her audience to examine their own relationship with gendered toys and consider how they may have influenced their own beliefs and values.