ARTIST STATEMENT
When looking at my inquiry concept of female madness, I was motivated to investigate this beyond its clinical definition – instead, as a construct/hyperbole/tool of misogynistic oppression. Artists Dorielle Caimi and Cristina Troufa paralleled my goals for formal and personal contexts – exploring mental health through a practice of realism illustration. With mental illness comes a social response – this, for people who do not benefit from male privilege, can be steeped in sexism. Female ‘madness’ is so often misinterpreted, and my piece Full-Blooded Theatrics invites us to reflect on our own contributions to stereotypes of the ‘hysterical woman’, or ‘drama queen’.
ARTWORK PROCESS
In this piece I have employed my currently refined, but ever evolving, method of drawing. I have taken from realist techniques and surrealist art styles. Ideas and representations are enhanced through bright colour, deliberate imagery, and carefully constructed symbols and motifs. I started with a light freehand sketch, then built up blended layers of Prismacolor pencils. Following this, I added highlights with a white paint pen. I covered imperfections and unwanted marks in the blank spaces in the background with white gouache. Finally, I added silver imitation leaf detailing, and embedded a vinyl sticker into the design.
