My Body as Narrative: I am Ageing

I am ageing, a fact of life that is both gratifying and daunting. It is time for me to reflect on my rich ‘multiplicitous’ life as a woman. As I have expressed, my life experiences are heavily influenced and imprinted by my culture. I note that I see myself as ‘sin,’ deeply and thoroughly, if not consciously. Through this process, that of making art in a self-confessional way, I am inviting a fundamental action, for me a necessary one, that of allowing creative expression for the experiential goal of re-enlivening and re-interpreting memory.

As a woman (mostly straight and cisgendered) and as an artist who works with diverse mediums and with a specific interest in the idea of the ‘Confessional Memoir,’ I explore my life through an embodied female lens. While I am not trying to create a ‘new’ language, the intention of my art practice is to de-censor my voice.

As my primary doorway to this investigation, I am compelling myself to examine my intimate relationship with my body through my art practice. As Naomi Wolf points out, “…we must now ask the question about our place in our bodies.” Wolf is referring to women accepting their bodies on their own terms, rather than through a patriarchal ideal that defines women collectively.