My work considers feminine aesthetics that are formed under pressures from target marketing and media advertising. I explore how social and digital media reinforces the gender binary and influences the construction of our individual identities. I articulate these conflicts through merging materials and color to forms that are reminiscent of the body while giving a window into psychological states of hopelessness, frustration, and apathy. In my work, femininity is embraced through decorative gestures with color and surface qualities. In tandem, these decorative tendencies are coupled with quick gestures, manifesting into grotesque oozing surfaces. The amalgamation of gesture addresses the criticism of decoration being superfluous and shallow. This relates directly to expressions of femininity and how these expressions receive a similar criticism despite being shaped by social constructs reinforced by gendered marketing. My work embodies the internal struggle of embracing the embellishments of the self. Decoration masks conflicting feelings of the desire to conform to gender roles while recognizing the inherent inequities at play. In turn, the emotional toll affects mental health and is materially shown by using found objects such as prescription bottles. This body of work uses a critical lens to analyze the ways media, targeted marketing, and gendered advertising manipulate and set ideals for femininity.

@maddyoart