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This body of work deals with issues of identity and the price of keeping up appearances that conflict with our deepest beliefs. It's about struggling to reconcile disparate fragments of identity and making choices about what to show or not show.
The origin of the female form that appears in many of the pieces is the Venus of Willendorf. An article on self-esteem in a 1960's Science magazine juxtaposed the Venus of Willendorf with schematic drawings depicting female forms. Circles were drawn around head, breasts, and abdomen and lines were drawn to enclose the circles in triangles. I saw the resulting diagrams as disturbing iconic images of how women are categorized.
Many pieces in this show use repeated female forms. On close examination, the viewer finds small differences between the forms and hidden messages. My work means to "talk" about pressures to conform to ideals and expectations that hold no meaning for us and encourage each of us to break the mold.
When I begin a piece I don't have a preconceived notion of what the finished piece will look like. My process is one of incorporating recognizable forms and asking questions using layers, color, fragments and materials as physical evidence and metaphor. I use multiple printmaking processes plus drawing and painting to let the images take on life in the making.
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