Portfolio: Mixed Media

Artist Statement

My studio practice focuses on the creation of artworks in a variety of media with an emphasis on hand-sewn hair drawings and watercolors. The artwork reflects contemporary notions of gender issues and feminism. These areas of study offer a fluid perspective on female history and the subsequent impact on social structures. The imagery used is appropriated from art historical depictions of women and re-contextualized to produce a contemporary meaning. My artwork examines the impact of popular culture on the female psyche and its relationship to art history and society in general. I am interested in the correlation between violence, the sexy and femininity. There is something disfiguring about a woman holding a weapon. The sight runs counter-intuitive to “mom & apple pie.” The veracity of the pose refutes the notion of “sexiness” and the form of the female figure becomes contorted with a sense of the uncomfortable.

My artwork is figurative from fragments to whole figures. It focuses on the materiality of the female body. The body is a medium of culture. In some artworks the isolated and silent body parts of the breast and the buttock communicate to the viewer in a provocative language. They speak about sexism, ageism, eroticism and maternity. I address these sexualized forms with a concentration on volume, weight, and imperfections of the flesh.