What artifacts were a lynchpin of your identity formation? Elle has worked with vintage texts for several years; upon recognizing that their childhood in the 1990s was now under the category heading “vintage,” they began pouring over their childhood and adolescent treasures in search of the pop culture influences that formed their expectations for relationships and gender roles. Bear Country pairs illustrations from the children’s book series The Berenstain Bears, with lyrics from an “iconic” playlist Elle curated from their friends in the Gen X / Millennial cohort. After years steeped in so-called identity politics, one has to ask: how much of our identity did we choose? When Elle moved back to their hometown after a prolonged absence, they used this series of work to excavate and name the pieces of vintage pop culture that had silently buttressed their identity. With illustrations from vintage Berenstain Bears books collaged between bubblegum-infused layers of paint and the scrawled lyrics of the songs from Elle’s friends, each painting asks the viewer to consider where – and when – their ideas for contemporary adulthood originated.