Gender Inequality
In a society where perspectives are a constant push and pull following changing times, women have, for centuries, been regarded as lesser than men. Gender inequalities have been prevalent in Western society since its birth due to its patriarchal nature, where men reign supreme. Women have only just begun their fight against these inequalities in a little over a century, from fighting for the right to vote to equal pay to the fight to be declared persons; women have overcome hardships to maintain the rights they have today. Despite the leaps and bounds made towards equality, at its core, there remain a myriad of injustices faced by women, especially women of colour. With this in mind, my aim for this body of work is to highlight and bring awareness to the more subtle discriminations which afflict women to date. Furthermore, I intend to reflect and present pieces which exhibit the impacts these cultural perceptions have on women in their lives.
This exhibition is primarily made up of pieces created using acrylic paints. There are several reasons as to why this is the case. First, acrylic paints are a medium that I am well-versed in using as such I believe it would be the best medium for me to extend my skills with and test its limits. Additionally, this medium felt as though an appropriate one to explore the topic of gender inequality given, I wanted this exhibition to canvas and pay homage to the history of injustices against women, despite its focus on inequalities in the modern day. Whilst I feared overusing this medium would result in flatness or mundanity to these works as a whole, I continued using it, not only due to the aforementioned reasons but also to create a sense of continuity and connection between each work, tying each one together beyond their common ideas. Touching on a more thematic side of this exhibition, I chose to focus on inequity faced by women in current-day Western societies as I felt I could interlace my own experiences within the pieces without taking center stage of the body of work.
Determining the layout of my exhibition gallery took plenty of trial and error to find a balance between an arrangement which would be appealing to its audiences in tandem with organizing the works to suit my desired viewing order per my visions for the exhibition. In the end, I split the works up into three smaller groups, each one tied together by similar colours and themes. The first group along the left side of the gallery highlights two pieces with green undertones. These two works highlight the physical effects instilled in women resulting from societal inequalities towards their bodies and autonomy. The next group of works is the largest by far, comprised of five centralized pieces, and touches on broader and more external problems, rather than internal ones. These works address these issues by exploring society’s response, or lack thereof, to them. Topics addressed here include violence against women as well as the sexualization and objectification of women. The final subcategory of the gallery wall is another group of two works, these with blue undertones. These pieces once again address the internalization of these inequalities by touching upon the framing of our patriarchal society and the impacts of stereotypes on women. Framing the internalized interpretations of these core societal flaws along the outside of the gallery space was done to stress the impact these injustices have on women in all facets of life. In all, I hope that audiences walk away with a greater awareness of the underlying players of gender inequality in our society and acknowledge both the impact it has on the lives of women and attempt to treat the topics and themes explored with the attentiveness they deserve moving forward.
This exhibition is primarily made up of pieces created using acrylic paints. There are several reasons as to why this is the case. First, acrylic paints are a medium that I am well-versed in using as such I believe it would be the best medium for me to extend my skills with and test its limits. Additionally, this medium felt as though an appropriate one to explore the topic of gender inequality given, I wanted this exhibition to canvas and pay homage to the history of injustices against women, despite its focus on inequalities in the modern day. Whilst I feared overusing this medium would result in flatness or mundanity to these works as a whole, I continued using it, not only due to the aforementioned reasons but also to create a sense of continuity and connection between each work, tying each one together beyond their common ideas. Touching on a more thematic side of this exhibition, I chose to focus on inequity faced by women in current-day Western societies as I felt I could interlace my own experiences within the pieces without taking center stage of the body of work.
Determining the layout of my exhibition gallery took plenty of trial and error to find a balance between an arrangement which would be appealing to its audiences in tandem with organizing the works to suit my desired viewing order per my visions for the exhibition. In the end, I split the works up into three smaller groups, each one tied together by similar colours and themes. The first group along the left side of the gallery highlights two pieces with green undertones. These two works highlight the physical effects instilled in women resulting from societal inequalities towards their bodies and autonomy. The next group of works is the largest by far, comprised of five centralized pieces, and touches on broader and more external problems, rather than internal ones. These works address these issues by exploring society’s response, or lack thereof, to them. Topics addressed here include violence against women as well as the sexualization and objectification of women. The final subcategory of the gallery wall is another group of two works, these with blue undertones. These pieces once again address the internalization of these inequalities by touching upon the framing of our patriarchal society and the impacts of stereotypes on women. Framing the internalized interpretations of these core societal flaws along the outside of the gallery space was done to stress the impact these injustices have on women in all facets of life. In all, I hope that audiences walk away with a greater awareness of the underlying players of gender inequality in our society and acknowledge both the impact it has on the lives of women and attempt to treat the topics and themes explored with the attentiveness they deserve moving forward.
