Most recently I have been working on a series of drawings that focus on women and how they portray themselves through self-portraits, and how these images reflect their sexuality and their self-esteem. These women straddle the border between being pitiful and hilarious so that they demand both empathy and uncomfortable laughter.
The drawings are inspired by men’s magazines, with photo spreads such as “Real Girls to Phone and Date”. Women are encouraged to submit photos of themselves and to describe their ideal man, or why they’ll “do anything”. I am interested in the low production quality of these images (some taken with mobile phone cameras), and how they become self-portraits that reveal the women’s insecurities and clumsiness. The original context is removed from the drawings, depicting young women who pose awkwardly in their underwear, displaying deformities that could be either major or minor (depending on how we choose to see them). Despite their awkwardness, however, the women stare back at the viewer with a kind of ease, rather than a resignation. They appear eager or expectant, implying that they are awaiting the viewer’s approval. The viewer becomes uncomfortable, not sure if they should find the women attractive, ugly, melancholy, or threatening.