Boundaries
“Boundaries “ depicts women and girls, who, though having been through painful experiences, are not victims but resilient and powerful. Each woman directly engages with the viewer, arms crossed, defying one-sided observation. For we are, as women, having a collective realization that all of us have stories about harassment, and are broadly rising to demand respect for our boundaries. The viewer can choose to interpret distrust, vulnerability, or confidence in these women’s faces, but in fact, two viewers may not see the same emotion in a single drawing. The interpretation of their expressions, relies as much on the viewer‘s inclinations as it does on my intention. As more and more stories are revealed in the #MeToo movement, the constant misinterpretation of women’s social cues and survival tactics is proving to be wide spread. These women are demanding to be looked at and to be reckoned with and these women stare back.
For me, drawing with its distinct interconnection between seeing and hand, is a way to put a focused lens on humanity and become more intimate with all of its marvelous diversity. I create my figures by reimagining and carefully collaging together fragments of images and elements of various bodies, faces, gestures, hairstyles and expressions appropriated from fashion advertisements, social media, and studio modeling into a seamless whole. My intention is to create a believable individual that is at once personally relatable to the viewer and yet also an every woman, universal and iconic. These are not portraits of specific individuals but a testament to the power of women and a call for the end of silence.