In the flesh
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Erin Fei Humphrey (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Jennifer Meanly
Abstract: This work is a visceral exploration of consumption and objectification, where the boundaries between human and meat, desire and repulsion, are blurred and dissected. I create art from a subconscious collection of lived experiences and the subjective, epistemological stance of existing in a female Asian body. Through a collection of paintings and sculptures, I dive into the discomforting reality of being seen, undressed, and devoured. From the dimly lit corners of strip clubs to the sterile environment of butcher shops, the works interrogate the act of looking and the power dynamics inherent in the gaze. I use the figure and pieces making up the figure to inhabit and investigate questions about my identity and my existence as a practice of embodied thinking. I utilize the grotesque as a mode of refusal and a way to subvert the fetishizing gaze. These works are sad, deprived, hungry, and misunderstood, inviting compassion and empathy through introspection and pulling back the surface to reveal the absurdity of being human, which is both abject and beautiful.
In the flesh
PDF (Portable Document Format)
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Created on 5/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Art, Consumption, Male gaze, Ornamentalism, Painting, Viscera