Agency
2021
40" x 26"
Original graphite pencil and powder drawing.
 
The image of the female body is convoluded but used across cultures as a sex symbol. My series' theme aimed to portray a retaliation against the male gaze. This artwork is a part of a series of four self portraits which zero in on various parts of the female form. Confrontational angles, poses and compositions together raise questions around viewership morality. The manner in which women have been represented in art history (and observed in daily life) leaves out much of their strength and humanity. Reclaiming my own female body as well as the female form was my intention in this work. Femininity and the female form are powerful and can be asserted as so to engage a visual conversation around the fight for equality of the sexes.
 
This piece is a part of my Senior Studio Thesis, completing my Bachelor's degree in Studio Art at the College of Saint Benedict. The series was exhibited as part of the (2021) "Soar" Senior Thesis Exhibition at Saint John's University. Throughout my years at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University I was taught under the brilliance of Professors Rachel Melis, Carol Brash, Jessica Harkins, Joe Singwald, Sam Johnson, Andrea Shaker, Matt Callahan, Matt Harkins, Paul Marsnik, and many more.