Fear Not This Body

Body shame is an insidious part of Western culture. As a fat woman , I am intent upon expressing and sharing the beauty of bodies that are commonly vilified in an effort to combat that shame. In my MFA thesis exhibition , I present an installation consisting of a series of larger-than-life nude self-portraits alongside a series of enameled objects that I call bodies: these share forms with various stereotypical feminine body types , present diverse skin tones and textures , and feature assorted anatomical features typically coded as unsightly or undesirable. The large portraits envelop the viewer in a fat body and encourage them to pick up and interact with these small enameled representations of fatness. The final portion of the installation is the sticky-note wall; a participatory activity with viewers based on vulnerability research and an experiment I performed within Jenkins Fine Arts Center over the month of September. The work has already helped others , and I expect to continue making body- and fat-positive works in order to continue helping viewers gain their own confidence