Statement

Using portraiture photography, drawing, and fabric sculpture, my work explores the concepts of gender identities, expressions, and stereotypes. By reversing the gender binary systems already in place: male and female, blue and pink, masculine and feminine, etc., I highlight the restrictive nature of the male and female gender binary. What might be seen as a “masculine” face is colored in pink tones, for example, while a more perceivably “feminine” face is depicted in blues. Portraits comprised of “gendered” fabrics, materials, and colors investigate outward presentation as an expression of identity while figure drawings on translucent paper look at the gendering of body parts and the assumptions that might come with physical identifiers. He, she, they, as I observe them engages in a broader conversation about cultural definitions of gender and the expectations around identity expression.