For Me or For You
Alongside my theoretical research of violence in digital spaces such as “revenge porn.” I started a series of oil paintings to create analog versions of the very nudes that could be leaked. These paintings were singular material objects that no one could further non-consensually disseminate online as acts of violence.
I begin my taking digital photographs of two images: a “mirror” selfie of the subject’s nude body, and an close up shot of a piece of clothing that the subject self-fetishizes themselves with to suggest the paradox of self exploitation and self empowerment endemic to the Age of the Selfie. “Empowerment” becomes a loaded word in third wave and post feminism, wrapped up in neoliberal notions of individuality, that eschew collective action and grassroots organizing of previous waves of feminisms. This focus on “empowerment” and “girl power” of a time when anyone can be an “influencer” prioritizes “self care” for the individual, seeing oneself as an entrepreneur of self-betterment and optimization. Its no accident that these “nudes”, split the line between an Instagram selfie and monetized sex work like Only Fans. This complicates the idea that agency is attainable by posting images of our bodies in a hypercapitalist mediascape.
“Take it or leave it” (2020) Oil on canvas. 36”x36”
I layer the fabric and the nude image, using algorithmic modes of difference in Photoshop while preparing the photo reference for the painting. Each painting becomes an individual unique portrait of that woman’s relationship with her body and her sexuality.
“For Sale” (2020) Oil on canvas. 24”x48”
This portrait explores sex work as a paradoxical site of both agency and shame. By referencing the work of Andrea Fraser, it asks how selling an image of your body as an art commodities mirrors the sale of your body in the sexual marketplace.
“classically beautiful” (2020) Oil on canvas. 36”x48”
The title “classically beautiful” is taken from a tweet of the woman in the painting that reads, “Being called classically beautiful is lowkey an insult.” This work investigates sinister privileges that haunt the way our bodies are exchanged, valued and deciphered against the shifting values of neoliberal politics.
“Incel vibes” (2021) Oil on canvas. 36”x48”.
This work continues the dialogue with “classically beautiful” by presenting layers between a photo of generically beautiful women posted with a caption, “incel vibes” that reveals an online personality both unaware of and satirizing the culture wars of the late aughts.