Forbidden Fruits

The silent act of girlhood transforming into adulthood inevitably comes with immense emotion. With the unknown and persistent future brings excitement and an abundance of possibilities, but also anxiety, pressure, and the unwritten rules that society expects from women. Expanding on these ideas, this collection of work, entitled “Forbidden Fruits,” explores the female form and its ties to various depictions and implications both in life and in art. I use representational and non-representational self-portraits that depict the female experience in various ways, inspired by an abundance of growing pains and mixed feelings to engage with the viewer and encourage a critical analysis of aging, transitioning, and existing in a female body.

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“Forbidden Fruits” is a collection of paintings that highlight and compare the female form to nature in a serious yet satirical way. This collection was initially inspired by the biblical story of Adam in Eve consuming the forbidden fruit; a metaphor for what is desired but immoral to indulge in. The story and its problematic connotations inspired this exploration of the female form, which has always been tied to various depictions and implications both in life, history, religion, and art.

In the modern era, a woman’s body is many things at once; censored and admired; innocent and promiscuous; cherished and condemned; fetishized and forbidden. This collection of work features paintings that place emphasis on the similarities between parts of a woman’s body that carry many connotations and various plants found in nature. The paintings depict images of a woman’s breasts adjacent to a pair of blooming and vivacious flowers; both natural, life-giving, and desirable. However, one of the two is also censored and distasteful. This is done to highlight the similarities of femininity and nature as well as the profound differences created through patriarchal socialization.

While some portraits gaze towards the viewer, at themselves, or at invented impressions of themselves, they also join the spectators and appear aloof, unaware of their audience. In this display, I am setting up an imbalance where continuous looking between the audience and the portraits is recognizably inapt. Each portrait becomes something one doesn't wish to look away from, even though they might feel that they should. With the intention to reflect on the imposed objectification of the female form, I want my work to confront the spectator, critiquing this imbalance by exposing it and embracing it all at once. By displaying these motifs and layers of the gaze in the form of self-portraits, I hope to relay my experiences, frustrations, and acceptance of the feminine experience.