Breakaway

Biggie Revised:

My work portrays resilient female figures in the face of oppression or defeat. The women in my work are empowered by their landscape, as they subjugate fiery horizons and volcanoes, reclaim wet, womb-like caverns, and retreat stealthily into the opening of a cave-like canopy. Imitating feline creatures and animal beasts through the expressiveness of their bodies further strengthens their connection to the natural world. They embrace abjection as a reference to their own primitive mammalian functions, and defy male-centered anthropocentrism as the dominant means of establishing power.

 I use figurative painting to render a primordial and contemporary female experience. Symbol is an essential component of my work. Mesh shirts, cheetah print dresses, jewelry with butterfly emblems, and posters from my own bedroom references the modern experience of life as a young woman. I am simultaneously inspired by ancient female icons, such as the Oracle of Delphi, the banshee from Irish folklore, and virgin sacrifices to chthonic spaces in ancient indigenous Central American cultures. In my work, I transform these women into contemporary reincarnations who express their feminine sensuality and emotion. While creating a more representational self-portrait solidifies narrative in a specific moment and time, stylization of the figure may enable greater ambiguity and open interpretation for the viewer.

This work creates an alternate reality where young women are liberated from experiences of helplessness and emboldened to expose their own weakness. I look to artists such as Ana Mendieta, Kiki Smith, and Jenny Saville, who deconstruct vulnerability and re-contextualize it as a structure for empowerment. My work establishes a relationship to these artists by celebrating the female experience and critiquing the limitations imposed on it by a patriarchal society. It is my hope that these paintings project my viewer and myself into a world of fearless, brave women, which can reveal truths about our own reality and encourage change.

Shortie:

My work portrays resilient female figures in the face of oppression or defeat. The women in my work are empowered by their landscape, as they subjugate fiery horizons and volcanoes, reclaim wet, womb-like caverns, and retreat stealthily into the opening of a cave-like canopy. Imitating feline creatures and animal beasts through the expressiveness of their bodies further strengthens their connection to the natural world. They embrace abjection as a reference to their own primitive mammalian functions, and defy male-centered anthropocentrism as the dominant means of establishing power.

Working with symbol, saturated color, and stylization of the figure enables me to render a primordial and contemporary female experience. Mesh shirts, butterfly jewelry, and posters from my own college bedroom symbolize modern femininity, while references to ancient female icons connect my work to timeless womanhood. Using a heightened color palette allows me to imagine an alternate reality devoid of female powerlessness. I create specific or ambiguous narratives by experimenting with shifts from representation to abstraction as I render the figure.

In this work, I facilitate a mythological landscape that connects women and nature and reclaims female sensuality. By celebrating emboldened and unrestrained femininity, I reveal truths about our own patriarchal society and the limitations it imposes on the female body. I hope that this work offers an alternative perspective on the experience of womanhood and re-contextualizes vulnerability as a structure for female empowerment.