STATEMENT

“IN YOUR FACE” ARTIST STATEMENT

It’s age old news - women feel enormous pressure to look younger. The message is everywhere - Botox ads, Demi’s face, remedies crowding shelves at Sephora.

And yet, the "age gracefully” philosophy still resonates with so many. Do we radically accept our crows feet and crepey necks? Or, succumb to products and procedures? 

At age 61, I know this conflict all too well. On one hand I try to embrace my eye lines and drooping jowls. On the other, I’ll have an upcoming event or be feeling particularly saggy; and off I go to get a syringe plunged into my forehead. In this show, I explore the dynamic tension between acceptance vs. perfection, and surrender vs. resistance.

Works are layered with discarded boxes, vials and instruction packets from anti-aging products - all meticulously collected over two years by my daughter, an Aesthetic RN. These materials are stitched, sanded, glued and stapled onto aging billboard-papered panels.

Imagery depicts silhouettes kicking or shoving a hand toward the viewer in defiance of the onslaught of pressure. Others are seated in power poses, comfortable in their skin. Sculptures include a dress created from syringe packages tied with ribbon bows titled “Red Carpet” and a Botox vial- and crystal-encrusted floor lamp called “Shiny Objects.” 

IN YOUR FACE is a judgement-free space. There is no good or bad. Right or wrong. It is a show about pressure, conflict and empowerment. Ultimately, it is about a woman’s right to choose. The power to feel how she wants and to do what she wants, when she wants, with her body (and face).