HSC Body of Work
Le regard mis à nu par son regard, même
The gaze stripped bare by her gaze, even
self-portrait - acrylic on canvas‘Flesh is the reason…paint was invented’, according to Abstract Expressionist artist Willem de Kooning. Throughout art history, women have been objectified and subjected to the male gaze. The history of Western art has involved a history of discrimination, where females have been conventionally represented as passive objects, spectacles and a sight to behold rather than active subjects, artists or authors of their own stories. My body of work explores the reality that transcends beyond the gaze used to sexualise young women and sexual violence that subsequently strips the bodily autonomy away from young women. Survivors of these experiences are not only deprived of having control over their bodies but can be subject to ongoing trauma and damage to their identity. Through the expressive application and layering of acrylic paint, I aim to reveal the rawness and reality of personal scars. I have made reference to the tradition and controversy of the reclining figure in art, notably represented in the paintings of Édouard Manet. The title of my artwork is an appropriation of the title of Marcel Duchamp’s artwork ‘The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, even’, signalling the complex effects of the gaze. My body of work communicates the power of the ‘gaze’ and a reclaiming of the gaze to overcome vulnerability and empower oneself.
Choosing to develop a life-sized portrait was an important choice in my artistic process; in order to engage audiences with the inescapable immediacy, powerplay and dialogue of the gaze.
Artist Book
