Making art is like dreaming. It is a way to sort out the problems of my mind. In this way, art is about expressing personal issues. It is a very therapeutic process for me because I express my inner conflicts, misery, and desires. During the art making process I can describe visually what I have difficulty explaining verbally. By exploring my own thoughts on paper, I am not only figuring out myself, but also allowing the viewer to gain access to my inner world and perhaps cause them to think about certain issues in a new light.

I use art to discuss the issues I face as a woman in this society. There are many conflicting messages that society sends to women, and in my art I raise these issues for both myself and the viewer to ponder. For women, more significance is placed on looks and we can see evidence of this in the huge industries of fashion, cosmetics, and plastic surgery. I depict this obsession with beauty in my work, at once criticizing as well as admitting I play a part in this activity.

I am also interested in the notion of the artist and the object of the art. Throughout history in our culture, art (specifically erotic art), has been made by men, for men. As a woman, I complicate this position by being both the object when I draw self-portraits, as well as the artist. This is one of the many functions that self-portraiture serves for me. I can be in control of the way I am seen and by putting the work on display I am forcing the audience to see my version of my appearance. However, these images are varied, illustrating the conflicting opinions I have about my body and about being viewed by others. By exploring the many different ways of representing myself, I am showing how the ideal notion of beauty is absurd and that beauty is really subjective.

Go to my full Artist Statement

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