In this body of work I am looking at women. I want to represent all different types of women for the multi faceted, talented individuals they are. I am challenging the idea that women can only be viewed as sexual objects, and as such commodities as discussed by Barthes. I am trying to change the role of the 'painted women' so that they may become the subject of the piece. I am reacting to the social conditioning that suggests particular gender roles. ‘Subject of Desire’ considers the decoration we adorn ourselves with and the perception it receives. That any from of social conformity appears to allude to the notion that ‘we’ accept our roles as prey. Whilst ‘Ayesha Farooq’ celebrates a women making headway in the strive for equality.

These pieces are intended to show women as something other than an object. Strong, defiant, a person.

 

In “Subject of Desire” I am looking in particular at the idea that the way we ‘present ourselves’ determines a women’s worth in society’s eyes. Saul discusses that in order to gain social acceptability, women are under constant pressure to ‘correct’ their bodies and appearance more generally, and make them conform to the ideals of feminine appearance of their time, the so-called ‘norms of feminine appearance’ (the standards of appearance women feel they should be living up to) (Jennifer Saul 2003, 144). In not doing this by way of tattooing her body has she taken ownership of her body? In posing in an ‘unladylike’ manner does she defy convention and set herself apart. The act of tattooing her body has changed her body’s perception, message and how it is viewed. I have presented this woman as a subject that does not tow on society’s line, she is intended to challenge the image of what a women is.

 

“Ayesha Farooq” is a portrait of the first ever female Pakistani fighter pilot. This painting is about celebrating a women who has broken down a "glass ceiling", challenged convention, and made clear she is as capable as a man in a role previously closed to women. The work is a celebration of women, their complexities, their strength and most importantly their substance. This work is about looking at women as more than just decoration, but looking at them with their true worth in mind.