"This Is Not About You", was a half-year long project, that I completed last Spring. With this project, I explored issues of body ownership, relying heavily on the portrayal of female bodies within the media and in cases of sexual violence. In order to do this project, I needed women to volunteer to have their breasts cast. I took the initial mold using Alginate, and then made a mother mold using plaster gauze. During this process, I had an open conversation about the volunteer's relationship to their bodies, and/or any incidents that made them feel as though they lost ownership over their bodies, etc. I recorded and then transcribed these conversations, in order to create a booklet of anonymous quotes to accompany the sculptures. After the mold was made, I filled the Alginate and plaster gauze mold with plaster. From there, I would reshape the form of the mold, making it reminiscent of ancient Greek or Roman sculpture. It is a hard project to explain in a short paragraph, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, I must apologize for the photographs. The person that took them did not capture the work from multiple angles or do close-ups on individual pieces. Hopefully, better photos to come soon!
These are direct quotations from my conversations with the volunteers. Some are very intense, and could act as a trigger for anyone who has been sexually assaulted.
This project was really special to me. The women I worked with are incredibly brave for trusting me with their bodies and their stories. I can only hope that this project makes us remember that our bodies belong to us, and only us.
No comments:
Post a Comment