Fear Not This Body

Abstract

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.