MONSTRARE:
Art and literature are two lenses through which I consume and create dialogues about female identity and women in the social world. My work hinges on the flexibility of mixed media to represent and distort the female figure*. More specifically, each piece is drawn from self-portrait photographs as a means of discussing projected and internalized identities, or results of social pressures and construction. Honesty and distortion are essential to my process; working from photographs rather than life result in loss of visual information, though, the work remains an honest representation of what I see and what my hands can craft. This yields a tension between what is real, what is seen, and what is crafted. My creative process for art-making and writing run parallel, and because art and literature are both deeply important means of discussion, I feel it only proper to title my works with poetry - or similarly honest and distorted narratives which talk about the work’s content**.
The word “monster” is derived from the Latin verb “monstrare” meaning “to show”; that is, monsters are cultural symbols used to show, or reflect on, human flaw or social deformity. My work explores the false use of “monster” or the collective “othering” in the social world which directly influences how women are viewed and view themselves. I use pink as a touchstone for this type of alienation, representing arbitrary symbols for gender and gender identity; though color is not inherently indicative of specific physical or character identities. These figures are fat and naked – exposed to scrutiny; upon which, there is an objective lack of monstrosity. My monsters function to undermine these socially regulated notions of beauty and the norm.
*Gender identity is not ascribed specifically to this physical form. These are mere depictions of myself as a female. Not all women have breasts, not all women have the same reproductive organs. A woman is someone who identifies as a woman.
**Content/Trigger Warning: Some titles may be suggestive of sexual violence.
Art and literature are two lenses through which I consume and create dialogues about female identity and women in the social world. My work hinges on the flexibility of mixed media to represent and distort the female figure*. More specifically, each piece is drawn from self-portrait photographs as a means of discussing projected and internalized identities, or results of social pressures and construction. Honesty and distortion are essential to my process; working from photographs rather than life result in loss of visual information, though, the work remains an honest representation of what I see and what my hands can craft. This yields a tension between what is real, what is seen, and what is crafted. My creative process for art-making and writing run parallel, and because art and literature are both deeply important means of discussion, I feel it only proper to title my works with poetry - or similarly honest and distorted narratives which talk about the work’s content**.
The word “monster” is derived from the Latin verb “monstrare” meaning “to show”; that is, monsters are cultural symbols used to show, or reflect on, human flaw or social deformity. My work explores the false use of “monster” or the collective “othering” in the social world which directly influences how women are viewed and view themselves. I use pink as a touchstone for this type of alienation, representing arbitrary symbols for gender and gender identity; though color is not inherently indicative of specific physical or character identities. These figures are fat and naked – exposed to scrutiny; upon which, there is an objective lack of monstrosity. My monsters function to undermine these socially regulated notions of beauty and the norm.
*Gender identity is not ascribed specifically to this physical form. These are mere depictions of myself as a female. Not all women have breasts, not all women have the same reproductive organs. A woman is someone who identifies as a woman.
**Content/Trigger Warning: Some titles may be suggestive of sexual violence.