My work addresses the often challenging transition from child to woman and how the pervasive sexualisation in contemporary society affects girls in particular.
I reflect on personal experience to express the distressing and conflicting emotions caused by unsolicited male attention and an awareness of being sexualised as a young girl. The themes running through my work are loss of innocence, consent and sexual violence.
Using a combination of naturalist painting, abstract performative painting and sculpture, I make installation artworks specifically designed for the space to create an immersive, unsettling and emotive experience.
Imagery and symbolism are important elements in my visual language which I draw from historical sources, collage material and popular culture.
The bird and the cage represent oppression and reference the sexual symbolism of seventeenth and eighteenth century paintings. The bunny represents the sexualisation and objectification of young women in contemporary society.
The bunny rabbit is a traditional image in children’s books and popular as a soft toy but in contrast is also associated with Hefner’s Playboy Bunnies.
I deliberately sexualise familiar imagery. I use tactile materials that encourage a desire to touch but use confrontational, repetitive text that instructs the viewer not to touch the work. This dichotomy of the familiar and unfamiliar creates feelings of uncannyand confronts the viewer with their own ideas of consent and objectification.
The performative aspect of my practice is both honest and exposing. By showing the physical movement behind my creative process I allow the viewer to see me physically paint the words and marks as I reflect on my experiences with sexual violence. I intend to connect with both survivors and the wider audience, highlighting the emotional trauma one is left with after being a victim of sexual assault.
