What Gave You That Impression
an ongoing body of work.
What Gave You That Impression
“What Gave You That Impression” is a collection of paintings that centre around themes of female surveillance, performance, and relationship to self and others. These works are in response to this statement that doubles as a question, highlighting the impressions left, both physically and metaphorically, by the world on a female presenting body or person in the modern era. Marks left from a tight bra strap; a dimpled grin; a tear-streaked cheek; a vacant stare. Each composition displays an impression created by an intrinsically female experience, highlighting the discomfort, frustrations, liberations, and joys that accompany life in a feminine body. These scenes pose ideas that will encourage questions around how female bodies experience the world.
In this display, I am setting up an imbalance where continuous looking between the audience and the artworks is recognizably inapt. Each artwork 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 that come with being a woman.