Societal rules have always determined the constructions of gender both accepted and taboo. It is unfortunate that the objectification of women still exists today and is a common phenomenon. Women’s bodies are perceived as containers for producing offsprings. Every woman is expected to have at least one child; otherwise, she will be the victim of gossip, pressure, and disdain. Even my mother, who is a well-educated woman, told me that a woman’s life is not complete without bearing a child. This conservative thought often limits females’ freedom or even shackles many women to despair. Derived from the idea of reification of women, I will produce a series of artwork, “Sale”, and have them displayed in MoMA PS1. These pieces are meant to depict how some females are oppressed and seen as merchandise, or merely baby-making machines.
In order to back up my concept in a more rounded way, I will conduct further research on how the underrepresentation of females has been perpetuated throughout history in visual culture. While the artworks of the past used perfect bodies and beautiful women as subjects to express what is beautiful and what is good, the media in the modern day attempt to feed women with ideas about morality and how women should look and behave.
For this project, I would like to explore both 2D and 3D materials, including one painting and one sculpture. Therefore my next step is to explore the appropriate material. I came up with the idea of making fabric sculpture after seeing Yayoi Kusama’s iconic Accumulations series, in which she transforms found furniture into sexualized objects. The work is made of an armchair painted white and completely covered with soft, stuffed phallus forms. It is disturbing and thought-provoking at the same time. I was also inspired by Karine Jollet, whose anatomical sculptures are pristine, soft, but disturbing in a sense. By utilizing recycled old bed sheets, shirts, and other linens, she detailly resembles the human body, from faces to organs such as the heart and nervous system. I intend to use similar medium and elements in my artworks as well.
Castillo, Liss. “Yayoi Kasuma and Her Obsession with Dots.” Arts Culture. July 09, 2017.
Jollet, Karinecom. “Soft Sculpture.”
Millar, Boyd. “The Phenomenological Problem of Perception.” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 88, no. 3, 2012, pp. 625–654.,
Nielsen, Jason. “Girlhood Today.” Journal Alice. Jun 30, 2000.
