My series of Polaroids are studies examining womanhood, specifically the ancient wisdom inherent in the female body. I staged the models in poses to capture two facets of femininity that were reflected in various series of paintings. The series titled “EarthWind” related natural forces to the female body, specifically the relationship of the feminine to the expressions of earth and wind. Earth is embodied in the image of the seated female. She represents the dignity of womanly bodies as sacral vessel, in a posture of grounded celebration. Wind is simultaneously a delicate and a dangerous phenomenon. The models extend their limbs in stances that reflect a force that is both graceful and very powerful, like womanhood itself.
Another series explored the figures of women fleeing “paradise”, an ideal exposed as a construct that rejected the female body and cast shame upon its natural form. The eventual series of paintings, called “Paradise Reinterpreted”, depicts the effects of exploitation and disgrace on the female psyche.
These Polaroids were integral to my creative process in developing my paintings. Only recently did I uncover their latent value as fully realized artistic products in their own right.
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