The Body explores the human body itself as a site of protection. As a mother, my body went through significant physical changes throughout the physical experience of growing and sustaining life. During these periods, my body functioned as a form of armor, not only for myself, but for my two children. The stretch marks shown are evidence of that protection.

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In this piece, I emphasized the stretchmarks with gold leaf paper, transforming something fragile into something enduring. Rather than concealing the stretchmarks, like I would be inclined to do normally, I wanted to embrace them. Because this was my first time using gold leaf paper, I did find it somewhat difficult to work with because of its fragility. 

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The dark red fabric recalls the rich red textiles frequently found in Pre-Raphaelite paintings. However, unlike my previous pieces, this one differs more from the Pre-Raphaelite inspiration to become more deeply personal. I originally painted the fabric a green color, but chose to change it to red later on (as seen in the in-progress picture included). 

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Together, these elements show that the body is not perfect, or something to be hidden; it acts as protection. 

 

 

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