Georgina

There are a few things that triggered the birth of this work.

I was doing my research on the modern attitude toward nudity and how societal expectations around the world differ on the subject. What used to be normal in the ancient times was frowned upon during the Age of Enlightenment. What is normal in the Western culture is unacceptable in Islam. What is okay on a European beach won't fly in the US. Even simple and non-sexual things like non-segregated bathing which is a normal in some cultures would cause an outcry in the others.

On top of the societal view, there is also an individual’s attitude toward nudity, which is something deeply engraved in the person’s vision of themselves. An act of being nude or being in a presence of someone lacking body coverings can cause deep discomfort to someone who is considering nudity a taboo.

At the time I was working with a model who was in the transition from being a male. Some of the male elements were still present and, together with the obvious female forms her appearance was at first causing cognitive dissonance for me. I love drawing human bodies, yet I can’t imagine being naked and comfortable in front of the strangers. I was amazed how brave she was, being proud of her body and able to work during her transformation.

I began questioning societal expectations of the female body, the notion of female beauty and my own misconceptions.

Around the same time I became depressed as my closest friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her cancer was aggressive and fast moving. We share our narrative and in a way she holds the keys to some parts of my identity, these tiny pieces of a puzzle which have no meaning in itself yet make the puzzle incomplete and therefore pointless.

One day I was walking across the barren wintery Central Park. A piece of bark fell off a fallen tree. The tree looked like a female body, trying to break out of its cast, shading the bark. I picked up that piece of bark and cast it as a part of the sculpture.

I named her Georgina for Georgia O’Keeffe. Come spring, she will wake up and turn into a beautiful being.

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