This work explores the history of representation of the idealized female nude specifically for the male gaze. The unrealistic beauty standards of contemporary society have always loomed over me since I was a young girl. Social media serves plastic surgery and photoshop on a silver platter. Therefore, I have always felt the pressure to change the way I look. Thanking about how I push and pull my skin in the mirror to reshape my body, I used a stretchy skin-like material, liquid latex, to make this feeling tangible to the viewer, literally putting it on display in a golden frame. Using hand-built ceramic frames I was also able to hide symbolism of femininity like flowers and fruit as a way to reclaim my female agency while also creating a French salon style installation mimicking 17th century high fine art.

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"A Body That Doesn't Feel Like Mine," Maine College of Art and Design, 2025