In my first encounter with The Trinity, it reminds me a lot of the wheel of the year that is implemented in Wiccan celebrations. There’s a clear separation between the spring and summer months, fall months, and winter months. Each is represented by a woman who’s dressed in iconography related to their season. They appear to be posed like a rabbit laying down, which is reinforced by the mask that they all wear. Rabbits are commonly viewed as symbols of fertility so the spring rabbit could be when the world is at its most fertile and it slowly declines as it goes through the year what with the actual dirt becoming too hard and cold to sustain things most of the time. Thus, this piece could simply focus on the cyclical nature of things. We’re born, we live, potentially giving birth to something else during our lives, then we die and the cycle starts again.

Outside the fertility implications, another view is that a comparison could be drawn between the piece to the abuse cycle as well. You start with something happy and minimal to no abusive behaviors but as the relationship progresses over the course of months or years even, the behaviors and tendencies show themselves all at once or slowly and before you realize it you’ve been cut off from those that could help you. If/when you finally get out, you say to yourself never again but that’s a hard thing to commit to because this person spent so long tearing you down that you start thinking “maybe they were right” and the cycle is very likely to start again.

It could also be nothing to do with any of this at all. It could just be an example of a gorgeous way to photograph some nicely crafted pieces of costumery. While at first glance the interpretations can be concrete and immediate, sometimes a piece just isn’t supposed to be that deep – it was simply created because the artist thought that it was an aesthetically striking way to document something.  Who’s to say?

Review by Ez Perry

 

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Exploring what feminism means to me has been a lifelong endeavor. My work is a continuation of this adventure, and I am inspired by all the ways we tell stories about our experiences as women. Looking outside of myself to the wealth of experiences around me, I turn towards figures in folklore and mythology, connecting myself to the origin stories and layered experiences of women around the world. 

For my most recent series, Lagomorpha, I wanted to explore deeper symbols and themes that represent femininity. In keeping with the current archetypal trajectory of my work, and invigorated by the start of spring, I became enamored with the folklore of the rabbit.  

Traditionally, rabbits have been used to symbolize fertility, growth, and the lunar cycle. They are also used as a metaphor for resurrection and rebirth. Building on that symbolism, I visualized the conflicting experiences of existing as a woman through the folklore of the rabbit. 

To tell my story of womanhood, I surrounded the female form with the backdrop of the four seasons and the symbolism of the rabbit. In each season, I create a visual story that speaks to the different roles women are expected to play within societal norms and throughout the seasons of their lives.   

Summer represents The Origin, a raw state of being, the time before a woman grows into herself. Autumn is The Transition, illuminating the parts of ourselves that die and go dormant during stages of personal growth. Winter is deep and erotic: The Deviant, symbolizes an over-sexualized state and lust, tied in with the rabbit’s trait of the trickster. Then comes spring, bursting forth with freshness and promise as The Innocent, illustrating the demure, virginal state of a woman of being the most pure in our patriarchal world. 

For some, the notion of feminism and femininity has one definition. For me, it has many. No one woman has the same exact experience with her identity as another, but we all suffer at the hands of how those outside of ourselves see us and attempt to control us. It’s important for women to allow themselves to break free of those chains. One way is by knowing that we all possess the power to be all of these parts of ourselves at the same time, living our own truth, however we see fit.

 

BIOGRAPHY

I was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and became interested in art at a very young age. My father practiced calligraphy and my mother made jewelry as a hobby. I attended a school for graphic design in Charlotte, NC for two years prior to enrolling at UNC Asheville. My work has been exhibited in several student juried shows, and I have also participated in group exhibitions in galleries in Asheville.

I have always been interested in photography, but I ran to the use of my camera very heavily when I lost my brother in a sudden and tragic accident. Preserving memories, moments, expressions, faces, forms, and love has become a passion of mine. I am also heavily influenced by my exploration into what feminism means to me, and using the female form to delve into different themes that give context to the woman’s role in our predominantly patriarchal society.