Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design
Gadigal Country
The Canker Galls the Infants of Spring
Photomedia
Digital photography
My body of work investigates personal identity and gender expression by re-interpreting pre-Raphaelite paintings. It examines how the rigid constructs of insistent Western gender binaries have made self-exploration taboo. My work references the rich imagery of Millais’s well-known Ophelia, her death the result of complicity with the patriarchy. I used dark yet vibrant colours in my self-portraits with exaggerated, staged compositions to convey an ethereal, painterly look. My intention is to subvert the association of Ophelia with hyper-femininity to represent the interplay between personal and collective identity and to communicate how these historical narratives resonate within the contemporary world.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: John Everett Millais, Ophelia; Caravaggio; Yasumasa Morimura; Bill Henson; David LaChapelle; Eliot Porter.
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