My work is about the tension between the beauty of the female body and the
underlying currents of dissatisfaction with that body, a stress stemming from a behavior
that is enculturated in women from an early age and over many generations.  The
complex and diverse issues related to the way women feel about their bodies are revealed
through a woman’s obsessions; ranging from the annoyance of the imperfections on the
skins surface to the internal desire to alter or even harm the body. 

My sculptural forms are metaphors for the innate beauty of the female figure.
Soft, rounded, sensuous torsos that also project the ideal physique of Western Society, as
presented in popular culture through a slender, hourglass shape, and smooth flawless
skin.  On the surface, my forms portray an image of beauty and perfection.  Subtle
openings, however, reveal deeper implications.  A small seam at the base of the belly and
just above where the pelvic bone would be, suggests an incision.  Within this opening I
have placed wax, fabric, and hair to address the natural issues a woman may have with
her body, such as fat, menstruation, and the upkeep of body hair.  

The corset illustrates the lengths women will go to attain perfection.  In the past
century, women would lace their corsets so tight that they would break rib bones, restrict
their breathing, and weaken their abdominal and back muscles.  Here, the corset begins to
symbolize a new set of extremes for contemporary culture from eating disorders to plastic
surgery.  
 
Finally, by contrasting the smooth exteriors with other textures, I am able to
address the imperfections on the skin’s surface.  Subtle dimples and lines across the belly
suggest cellulite and stretch marks.  Scars from scratching and cutting the skin express
the feelings some women have and may inflict upon their body.  The impressions of
fingerprints represent the history of a woman’s encounters with other people, the number
of times she has been touched and how she has been touched, groped, or fondled.  

My work is informed by the cultural construction of the ideal woman, i.e., a
pretty, tidy, clean, little package; and by the women close to me, the women I encounter
from day to day, and the representations of women throughout history.  To this end, I
want the representations of the female figures I create to possess a goddess-like quality,
to show the beauty that all women possess, and to portray the reality of feminine
struggles in a society obsessed with constructed images of beauty.  I want to reference the
idea of the male gaze and the objectification of the female body through the use of the
torso but to also bring the viewers attention to the perceptions a woman may have about
her own body.  My intention is to place the object in front of the viewer in an effort to
provoke, educate, and compel the viewer to think differently about the complexities of
the female body.