Artist Statement:
What baggage comes with being a woman? It is hard to put into words what it can feel like to be a female in a world that works so hard to put you down; to make you feel not good enough. A world that for so many years has successfully convinced many women they are insufficient. But, I find it beautiful that we all have experienced feelings like this, whether we have spoken about them or not. Women from around the globe, close and far, know what it feels like to look into that mirror for just a little too long.
In this series, I was inspired by the magnificent Cindy Sherman, who broke ground through her Untitled Film Stills series where she exposed the many roles women are portrayed as and expected to fit into. I took direct inspiration from her photo, Untitled Film Still #39, where she is photographed standing in front of a mirror with her hands on her lower belly. I interpreted this photo as her representing a woman that is getting ready to go out, but can’t seem find the ability to believe she is beautiful just the way she is. A woman who has been standing in front of the mirror for far too long, analyzing every bit and piece of what she sees. With this idea in mind, I led with the thought “transparency of self,” aiming to capture the way it can feel when your mind is racing with negative thoughts, trying so hard to convince you of things that are not true. When all you can see are the flaws on your body, feeling as though you are translucent. My hope was to enable the viewer to realize they are not alone in feeling this way, to allow them to relate and understand we all go through these motions.
