How to explain my practice?
I hate this question – any response feels inadequate. But, I realise the entire endeavour is neatly encapsulated by the question ‘Why is Doctor Who never a woman?
I’m interested in the nature of the gaze – what do we see when we look at something? What blend of original object, associations, conventions, cultural ‘rules’ and stereotype is contained within the focus of regard?
How do the feminised and masculinised gaze differ from each other?
How does all of this apply to me – what do others SEE when they look at me? What do I SEE when I gaze upon myself?
I’m trapped by the ‘rules’ of this process of engagement. Acknowledging their presence and understanding them, is useful but insufficient. They’re slippery and devious in nature; attempting to refute them (and I feel I should) risks descent into unwitting collusion, reinforcing the very thing I wish to rebut. The sole viable option left to me – to explore the boundaries of my concern; to probe, test, collude, subvert, reverse in the hope an answer presents itself.
THIS is what my practice is about.
