I am currently engaged in an exploration of the human relationship with nature, a relationship that often feels disconnected due to technology and the artificiality of the post-modern world. These things make it easy to forget where we come from. However, the natural connection is undeniable when one looks at the structural patterns inherent in plant and animal life, including in humans. I am interested in exploring this mysterious connection in the context of the female body as a personification of nature.
In my current body of work I am highlighting the conflict between contemporary humans and their disconnect from nature. The resulting work depicts figures that are involved in an unclear transformation. The bodies exist on the cusp of creation and destruction, drawing a parallel between the conflicts of the human mind, and the entropy of nature. The imagery lies in ambiguous space that contributes to a feeling of loss, self-destruction, and chaos, but ironically has an atmosphere of beauty. The duality serves to blur the lines between nature and body, and the deconstructed figures begin to transform into new awkward organisms with their own sense of sensuous beauty. The conflicts present in the subject matter create a push and pull between nature and human nature.
My choice to depict female bodies centers on women’s roles as creators and their symbolic association with nature. Some ancient cultures worshiped female nature deities, similar to the concept of Mother Earth, celebrating sexuality as the source of their power. In our modern era, society seems to be in conflict with how they feel about the female body and feminine sexuality. Many Americans seem to have distorted and unrealistic ideas about sex and the human body, and much of the time people refuse to discuss these things in any meaningful way. Nudity is deemed inappropriate and reserved for R rated films or hidden away in fetish magazines where female bodies are viewed in a context far removed from the ancient idea of Mother Earth. These bodies, once seen as vessels for new life and celebrated for their power, become sexualized fragments, separated from the individual. Time has transformed female bodies from a source of life and power to an object for male desire. By reclaiming these parts and recontextualizing them I wish to equate femininity with a powerful force of creation and sexuality independent of the desire of others. At the same time I am exploring a more universal human relationship with nature, I am also exploring what it means to be female and hold this potential for creation and power that we all hold inside ourselves.