"The Fine Line We Walk"

"The Fine Line We Walk"
2016
Plaster, wax, burlap.
Dimensions: Multiple pieces that would fit within a 4’ square

This piece was inspired by an old article I read entitled, ‘‘Dykes’’ or ‘‘whores’’: Sexuality and the Women’s Army Corps in the United States during World War II by: M. Michaela Hampf, published in Women’s Studies International Forum 27 (2004) 13 – 30. I was struck by how my experience walking the fine line of being labeled 'whore vs. dyke' during my army years (between 1998 - 2009) is actually something I have in common with these sisters that came before me. For this piece I wrapped my torso in masking tape and then cut it off and stuffed it. The form, that I then placed a Halloween heart halfway into, was what I used to make the mold. However, instead of making something with the mold, I made the mold itself the focal point of the piece with a 'bleeding' wax heart falling out of it. The broken pieces of plaster placed around it is to show the 'breaking apart' of my being. Etched into the mold are words used in the above article as well. The picture to the left shows how it was displayed during a 2o16 student art exhibition. I deliberately organized the piece to look like it was literally falling and breaking apart in the gallery.