Collection: “Stop Undressing Me with Your Eyes”

“Stop Undressing Me,” 2017, was the first collection I painted, a nine-piece series emerging from my experience as an unwilling object of the male gaze. During my one-mile walk to work, I noticed men slowing down as they drove past me in order to leer at my body, sometimes even inviting me into their cars. I channeled my feelings into these watercolors, using color and line to express everything I would like to say to my would-be ‘admirers.’

Painting became a process of self-affirmation as well as an interrogation of the patriarchal culture of domination that tells men desire equates to possession. The vivacious tones and sinuous forms play with tensions of gender, strength, power, and self-expression.

These artworks are intentionally confrontation, speaking directly to the viewer and implicitly accusing them of violating certain boundaries. The contrast of childlike watercolor designs with such audacious statements reproduces the dissonance of striving for self-love and body positivity within a culture that routinely shames and objectifies women’s bodies, turning them into canvases for unwelcome desire. The bubbly color and eccentricity of the statements add humor and levity to otherwise untouchable subjects.