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artist's statement

My work challenges the objectification of the female body in Western culture. Through oil paint, sculpture, and digital processes, I consider that which links power to gendered and social constraint using elements of play, absurdity, and the surreal. 

In my research, I am interested in exploring how silicone can facilitate feminist discourse surrounding skin as both a place of rest for the gaze and a site of healing, empathy, and connection. A material that is often overlooked but fundamental to our everyday lives, silicone has recently been used to enhance or augment the body as seen in products like prosthetics, implants, and sex toys.

My material exploration further expands my conceptual inquiry into gender studies and my investigation into personal experiences with abuse. Through self-portraiture, I investigate the power and vulnerability of skin. Whether referencing the epidermal surface of fruit, human or toy, I explore skin as a boundary, an illusion, and both a protective and oppressive force. Conveying an ambiguity between resistance and absorption, I contend with simultaneously conforming to patriarchal culture as a means of assimilation and camouflage while also rejecting it within intellectual and creative frameworks. Building on the writings of feminist theorists like Laura Mulvey and Julia Kristeva, I reference skin and surface to examine what it means to be a woman in the 21st century— an identity marked by ambiguity and contradiction. 

© 2023 by Lainie Ettema

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