Dressed in pink corduroy shorts and pink T-shirt from Joshua Tree National Park, I was the pinkest of the trio heading to Bainbridge Island Cinemas to see Barbie, The Movie.

Discovering the 7-year old neighbor and her mom didn’t own one piece of pink clothing, I made us all pink crowns.

For me, the movie was a shocking reminder of how we are all failing to bring equality between men and women. It brought into sharp focus the dominance of the patriarchy in the United States of America.

Shocking pinks and buttery yellows exploding into the landscape.

Oddly, the movie had a strange impact on my work in the studio. Suddenly my landscapes were imbued with bright pinks and buttery yellows, resplendent purples and sage greens. Somehow my subconscious latched onto the vibrancy of the film and smashed its way into my landscapes.

What does it mean to be a man in a patriarchal society?

Barbie, the movie, shines a light on the dominance of the patriarchy in today’s society and dispels the myth that we’re closer to equality. For me, it made me determined to be a better ally.

It also made me reflect on my mateship with men. As a queer man with a lot of straight male friends, I’ve been long fascinated by the relationships between men in Australia and in turn their relationship with the natural environment.

This fascination has spilled onto my canvases bringing together those two lenses and overlaying them. 

There’s a brutality to the Australian landscape, a harshness, a spikiness that is reflected in our relationship with it which makes it especially surprising and stark when a tenderness and intimacy is revealed between men when they go bush.

Why did Barbie have this effect on art?

It seems counterintuitive and almost abrasive to have male-focused artworks spring from a movie that’s about smashing the patriarchy.

Yet, I think it’s only when we reframe the male-dominated world mindset and encourage tenderness, vulnerability, openness and communication – alongside the traditional male stereotypes of strength and resilience – can we truly dismantle male-dominated societies foster equality.

See more work my Ray Monde at raymonde.com.au and on Instagram @ray_monde_