Red Lodge Clay – Center Short-Term Resident 2015
Each day we present a version of ourselves to the world. We dress, act, and speak according to the structures we seek to fit into. Any given version of self and cannot completely encompass who we truly are, but the question remains; is there a true self to be found? How do we find a reflection of ourselves in the cultural constructs we are provided with? My artwork functions as a metaphor for how individuals construct these versions of self in question.
Binary gender constructs function as a framework for me to investigate the flaws in a system determined to define and categorize individuals. My materials and pallets are informed by consumer culture directed toward females. In my work, overt femininity occupies masculine forms and spaces; lines become blurred while remaining set. Ornamentation signifies the great sense of value that is placed on defining ourselves for the world and the repetition of work in order to do so. The quality and status, or lack thereof, of the materials I utilize highlights the deceptive nature of constructs as a means of defining one’s self. My artwork provides a space for viewers to investigate these concepts and examine how they affect themselves as individuals.