Yearbook 2021

Art Report - YEAR 12

Olivia McLennan The Art of Gender Through featuring appropriations of Yasumasa Morimura’s “Portrait” (1998) and Donatello’s bronze ‘David’ (c. 1440), the photo series “The Art of Gender” showcases ‘two sides of the coin’ exploring gender, female subjectivity, and culture while simultaneously opposing phallocentric ideologies and depictions of the feminine. Transforming the subject’s physical appearance with makeup, costume and digital display the subjective experience of performing for the camera as these aforementioned subjects. Through reversing the portrayal of femininity and masculinity of the woman and statue, the artwork challenges typical notions associated with power, authority, submission, and independence. manipulation creates a performative relationship between the mediums that representations and expectations of women both throughout history and in contemporary society, suggesting that these ideas condition women’s perceptions in a patriarchal culture. Furthermore, the subjective agency generated through a performance artwork places the subject’s identity as a woman at the forefront, a radical postmodern position that creates a multi-layered, allegorical and inferential experience for both the artist and the audience Moreover, by extension, the artwork criticises traditional