VANESSA ROMO
thoughts
Transfixed by the complexity, I am drawn to contradictions. Finding links between subjective memory and fact, apathy and empathy, femininity and masculinity, fragility and strength, and beauty in the grotesque, have been the focus of my research. Rather than being restricted by the polarity of these pairings, my interest is in locating the relationship within in them. I experiment to see what results when these perceived boundaries are muddled.
I often feel at a loss for words, and find myself using the figure as a vehicle to find them. Without access to a full length mirror we do not see ourselves as a whole. Quite literally, we only see ourselves in bits and pieces; an arm here, a leg there. This fragmenting/fracturing of ourselves (and our bodies) is a strong component in this body of work. These objects are a manifestation and response to my conditioned opinions of the female ideal and form.
Using porcelain as the foundation for skin, I’ve added an additional complexity by layering industrial and domestic materials (insulation foam, stitching, ceramics, etc.). These seemingly opposing materials were chosen to further examine contradictions within the feminine. Visceral fat, mammary glands, and dermis layers have influenced my surfaces and color pallet. I utilized intuitive decision-making, fracturing of form, localization of private spaces, and distortion to exercise cathartic releases.
Through self-examination I have restructured my perception of femininity. Now, these curiosities constructed of fragmented parts, oddly mended and strange, have become whole.