Fine Arts

Shifting Aspects

Transformation and identity are key concepts that inhabit my art making. This work aims to explore the multiple ways gender may be expressed within the one individual in a form which suggests movement and the ability of change. The structure itself is comprised of a series of blocks, one placed on top of the other, which are arranged in a spiral formation. Upon the two widest sides of each block is part of an image. If all the blocks were stacked evenly, the image segments would come together to appear as a figure on each side. These two figures, which are both the same person, exhibit binary gender expressions. These could be considered as one more masculine and one more feminine. The twisted configuration of the blocks, however, distorts these images so that aspects of both sides are viewed together as a hybrid character. This ability of movement that the blocks have, suggest the possibility of new variations of subjectivity that could be formed, visualised and embodied. The blending of mediums, photography and sculpture, also lends to this concept of the hybrid identity. The use of photography alludes to the use of the image as a form of social representation and construction. The use of sculpture however, allows for a different kind of interaction between art object and viewer. The scale of the sculpture as larger than life size allows for an element of power and presence, that which the socially constructed image holds. The placement of the sculpture effects the reception of that object. The relationship between location and social expression is then investigated, with the notion of the deliberate choice of self-expression depending upon the speculated reception from others at a particular location or to particular social groups. Perspective plays an important role in this work as the viewer’s position dictates what aspects of the twisted images are seen. This visual technique conceptually refers to the multiple perspectives of the self and the varied approaches towards gender that have been developed and adopted. With segmented characters and shifting block constructions this work seeks to explore the changing social representations of gender and the varied possibilities of expression for the individual.