be honest. but don’t is an exploration of femininity and vulnerability. The series of installations and drawings document the internal narrative of the female experience and the anxious thoughts that often define puberty and womanhood.
The body of work for this exhibition began with the creation of five hand-stitched books featuring a series of short poems. The self-reflexive quips are intimate and reminiscent of personal journals. Created using hand stitching and the outmoded technology of Letraset, these poetic and raw “books” present the journal as an aesthetic object.
Through these journals, notes passed in class, and embroidered bed sheets, I explore themes that typically define women’s experiences; insecurity, embodiment, and intimacy. The work examines scripts of femininity and the contradicting messages of a hyper-sexualized culture. With delicate drawings and minimalist collages, I investigate the reduction of women to the external and the unprecedented scrutiny and commodification that accompanies it.
Acknowledging the unique challenges that afflict women, the work questions a male-centric definition of femininity and is an invitation to examine the narrow-minded scripts we have been handed.
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