Research and Statement

ARTIST STATEMENT

I started my project by thinking of ways I could further push my previous work and different ways in which I could display it under the current circumstances, if I was unable to display my work in my studio. I wanted to continue to further explore how women's bodies are objectified and how it is to actually experience my own body. Following some digital art, I created during summer regarding Ask FM to spread awareness for Mental Health Awareness week. Ask FM is a website that allows users to post anonymous comments and questions to a person's profile. I noticed a lot of the questions or messages I received on there were very degrading and objectified me. Anonymous people either described my body or what they'd like to do to it. The language which was used mortified me and had a massive impact on me and the way I have presented/ experienced myself and my body since then. It made me question why people speak of women as if they are trophies or objects, something they can control. Why are people so demeaning when describing or speaking about women's bodies?
With influences from Pipilotti Rist, Emma Hart and Cheryl Donegan my work has both modern and contemporary layers. I have created a video using a mixture of 3D models, digital drawings and film footage to explore how language and slang terms are used to describe female genitalia, how it adds to everyday misogyny and why people are so afraid to use the correct terminology. In an attempt to avoid vulgarity, society uses offensive and degrading language to describe women’s genitalia. In an attempt to protest, I set out to openly speak about women’s bodies without shame so we can finally ditch these vulgar slang terms and celebrate our bodies using the correct language.
Initially, I focused on Cheryl Donegan’s style of work as she evokes shock and humour, which I’d like my work to have. Even though her film was created in 1993, I feel her work is very contemporary and fresh. The use of a sexual innuendo conveyed through the milk bottle adds humour, but also a level of disgust. Similarly, I want to communicate a serious message about the ways in which language sexualises and objectifies women's bodies through the use of humour. Similar to my previous works, this project is feminist based and explores ideas around the patriarchy and sexual objectification. I decided to delve into this subject as I feel my approach towards this issue is completely new and very contemporary. This is because the idea of women being objectified by language is something that has affected me personally.
My vision for this project was to create a short film, something that I have only experimented with once before. I really liked Pipilotti’s work, how she expanded her work beyond visual means by creating sensorial experiences. She did this through speeding up and then slowing down the footage, as well as editing it to create distorted images. Sometimes the sound was even inaudible for the human ear, it creates an exaggerated grotesque form of feminine qualities. I really liked the idea and wanted to include this into my work as I wanted to exhibit quite sexualised depictions of the female form while distorting them to avoid being over sexualised by the viewer. I think this was effective as I wanted a comical undertone to my work, so it creates a disjunction with the subject matter.
Things I think went well throughout my project are my exploration of film and using a lot of different mediums, whether that was creating 3D breasts or filming stop motion videos. I also think I was successful by creating the right amount of playfulness and subjectivity within the film. A lot of my video used sexual connotations and offensive euphemisms which I think created the right balance between them being too vulgar and in your face with being more subtle and impactful.
I encountered some difficulties throughout my project as I sometimes struggle with time management and actually producing work. I tend to spend a lot of time on research and not as much time creating. When I started experimenting with different mediums to create my video, a lot of them took a lot of time to either edit, create or film meaning I couldn’t fulfil or explore all of my ideas. I used this issue to my advantage by focusing and spending more time on the ideas I managed to film to ensure the footage I did make was finished to a standard I was happy with. Through doing this, I feel as though the footage I have now is of a higher standard and quality than it would have been if I had included all of my ideas. I also found that the editing and creating of the digital animations were very repetitive and got quite boring. I rectified this issue by editing or creating different sections at a time. I found by having multiple things on the go, I was not as easily bored.
As I decided to focus on digital work only, I have been able to adapt to working from home very well and haven’t let my ideas and intentions be thwarted by the current situation. I have really enjoyed experimenting with video and film, I feel it has a lot of potential to push further. I could do this by exploring the ideas I didn’t manage to do, due to my own time management and procrastination. Although, if I had chance to push my ideas further, I would experiment with filming in different locations and possibly exploring different lightings. I don’t feel my work has concluded yet and I would like to create more work around this idea to see where I can take it. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of my project so far.