Bread and Butter

2017

Bread and Butter aims reclaim the historical representation of the nude womxn by desexualizing and normalizing the form, depicting it performing mundane and realistic behaviors.

Artist Statement

I wanted to challenge the pervasiveness of the male gaze in women’s representation in the visual arts, specifically the concept of the nude. I believe that by presenting the women’s nude form in the most average, realistic, and non-idealized way I can normalize the naked body while desexualizing it. The narrative that women’s bodies are inherently sexual has been pushed to the point that as a society and culture, we police women’s skin no matter the context. We push this narrative when we ban young girls from showing shoulders at school, when we ask women to wear knee length shorts and skirts around young boys, and when we criticize women for being too sexy when they are simply just wearing clothes.

This issue affects Black women disproportionately, with them being the victims of misognoir; too often asked to coverup or leave public spaces because their bodies are inappropriate.

It is important to me to see representation of women that is normal, and shows us living normal lives in our skin. We are not sex toys, we are not objects, and we will not wait for anyone else to change this narrative. We are allowed to be naked and not be sexual.