Supernatural Bodies
2022

      In this series of narrative self-portraits, I look at the literal and metaphorical dissection of the female body. I depict the body morphed and disrupted. Teetering between victim and perpetrator, my identities range from primal, possessed, confrontational, to heavenly and subdued, erotic and performative, to dismembered and violated. The viewer is met by a potent and unflinching gaze.

       Drawing inspiration from 19th century surgical theaters, anatomical museums, and classical portraiture and sculpture, the dissection of female bodies takes many forms. As women have been reduced to the sum of their parts; they are surveilled scrutinized, and anatomized. Engendered as a collection of body parts that can be perfected and corrected; perfection of the parts equals perfection of the whole.

      I create in direct reaction to being objectified and growing up with the expectation of beauty, perfection, and youth. I react to the onslaught of digitally and surgically enhanced bodies that have been targeted to me since childhood. I engage in the construction of images that are intentionally loaded and referential– reflecting my fascination and frustration with depictions of women in art and media.

     Through these images, I revel and grieve in the transformation of my body. I find pleasure and disturbance in the disruption of self, the potential of power, resilience, and the supernatural essence of the body.