The figure is a natural form of expression for my thoughts. Ideas manifest themselves as bodily gestures. The female nude is a deeply rooted representation in the history of art, which creates both an established cultural context for me to wrestle with and a springboard to push the concepts within my art. When creating my work I also consider that human experience begins in the consciousness of the self and body in relation to space and especially objects within the space. The gesture of the figures is an element the audience can feel, relate to, and ponder.
My work is concerned with issues of feminism in Western society, particularly gender structures and binaries. Gender is a misconceived notion by society at large. What is Woman? Who says so? Through whose eyes are we seeing our gender, our world, and ourselves? My figures are the results of examining how we interact with, respond to, and act within those socially erected structures.
Education is power, so I read authors such as Simone de Beauvior and Judith Butler. I also spend time observing and gathering information about gender and sexuality from current culture, including movies, music, the media, and politics, as well as all of the people around me, especially from my peers, my teachers, my students, and my family. Drawing heavily from this research and autobiographical experiences, my work is often critical, sometimes humorous, but most importantly it is empowering.
