Printmaking Grad Show 2011 - Emily Blom
Womans Day Series
Etching and Monoprint on BFK Reeves
Womans Day #1
Womans Day #2
Womans Day #3
The Beginning of the End
Womans Day #5
Womans Day #6
Womans Day #7
Grad Show 2011
“I
know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed
several times since then.” – Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll).
The
work is an expression of the instability of self-image realised through the daily
routine applying make-up to mask insecurities and fit the mould of society’s
expectation. The mask has the power to transform, yet it is ephemeral. No
matter how much, often or carefully it is re-applied the women inevitably
return to the unmasked point from which they began.
This current project is an extension of
previous work that has looked at self-perception in its various forms and the
relationship between the self and the mirrored reflection. It aims to challenge
the manipulated and air brushed mass media perception of beauty and women’s pathological
ritualised behaviour in chasing this quest.
A theatrical reference is used as an
allegory for the theatre of our daily lives and includes reference to Japanese
Kabuki theatre, classical Greek theatre and the doll like faces of marionette puppetry.
The daily, obsessive need for perfection is
shown in the work through repetition. The frieze depicts the figure and its
perceived reflected image in transition from the vulnerable to the painted
mask. On either end is an apparent mirror image, yet there are differences to
demonstrate that though each cycle is mechanically similar self-image is fluid
and perceptions ever changing. It reflects self-judgement and the inevitability
of returning to the original state from which one begins.
The work utilises the simple line drawing
of Japanese woodblock prints, juxtaposed with patterns and colours which have
been printed directly from fabrics. The emphasis on pattern represents the feminine
desire to decorate oneself and signifies constant shifts and changes of
identity.
The work questions the pressures placed on
women by society and the lengths women go to on a daily basis in pursuit of
unachievable perfection.