Curatorial Rationale

Through this exhibition, I aim to take the viewer on a visual journey of experimentation and growth as I explore the subject of identity and how it relates to other personal topics, such as my sense of self and the role of identity in the concept of womanhood and gender. The vision for this body of work is to physically immerse the viewer in my train of thought. I want the viewer to engage with the exhibition as if they are engaging with the artists’ thought process behind each prompt.

The exhibition is split into two main sections with one common theme of identity, one section that focuses on individual and personal identity, and a second section on the social perception of identity by exploring how we view and understand gender. These themes are explored through a variety of mediums, including digital art, traditional art, and sculpture. Each work is meant to display a differing perspective on the topic of selfhood.

The first section of the exhibition introduces my identity as an artist the way I and others perceive myself. This section of the exhibition is heavily inspired by moments throughout my life in which I felt uncertain or unsure of who I am, how people view me, and the performance I put on for others. Therefore, this section of the exhibition features works that draw heavily from symbolic ideas while featuring more straightforward works to understand contextually. Throughout this body of work, a key motif is my identity as an artist, how that has influenced the way others view me, and how that reflects on my art. However, this stage of the exhibition also features pivotal pieces in my journey as an artist, in which I was able to develop my skills the most, building on past knowledge to express new concepts and emotions.

As most of these works were made during a crucial part of my adolescence, many of the motifs and inspiration have been drawn from my own experiences, such as my experimentation with androgyny and my perspective on gender norms and social expectations. Therefore a common theme throughout the second part of my exhibition is exploring gender through nontraditional forms, experimenting with themes such as the subversion of gender norms through appearance.

Whilst not completely ignoring topics that are commonly associated with gender norms, such as body language or discrimination. For this section of the exhibition, I have utilised different mediums such as traditional painting, charcoal, ink, and digital art in order to separate each topic and provide a unique perspective on each ‘response’. A key element of this section is the creative process behind each work. I would like the viewer to engage with the topic and the process; therefore, this section of the exhibition features photography and other reference concepts, commonly viewed as behind the scenes elements of the fine arts.

Despite one key motif of identity, the exhibition is structurally split into two sections, with the first one acting as an introduction to my work, focusing on my personal exploration of selfhood. Meanwhile, the second part engages the viewer into a greater interpretation of identity and its importance in topics such as sexual identity. The style and layout of the second panel engages with the viewer through its question and answer style, the topic, a question; “How do we define womanhood and gender?” encourages the viewer to construct their own personal response, meanwhile the works, which are titled in the form of an answer demonstrate my personal attempt to answer the question. I intend to prompt the viewer by questioning the norms that we have constructed both around society’s understanding of ‘identity’ and the stereotypes and norms surrounding the concept of gender. Therefore creating an exhibition that dives into the topic of identity on a personal and social level.