‘Pretty Please’, así llamó la artista Allison Morris a su serie de autorretratos, donde hace una reflexión sobre la femineidad, poniendo en juego «literal» a las tradiciones y los objetos de este universo.
Desde una perspectiva feminista, la joven y emergente fotógrafa canadiense Allison Morris, natural de Toronto y licenciada en fotografía por la Ontario College of Art and Design University, explora en sus trabajos la representación e identidad femenina, la construcción de la feminidad, la belleza y la juventud, desafiando con sus autorretratos la mirada masculina al uso. «Esta colección de autorretratos pretende resaltar y cuestionar la naturaleza extravagante y sin sentido de los objetos ‘femeninos’ y otras tradiciones – desde el peinado hasta la modificación del cuerpo – cuya finalidad es dar forma y alterar la auténtica forma femenina y mantener un firme control sobre la juventud”.
It’s no secret that women traditionally endure far more rituals when it comes to beauty maintenance than men. The act of constructing femininity – taming your mane, lacquering your lips, erasing your blemishes, cinching your curves – has historically been an intense process. The apparent purpose of which, Canadian artist Allison Morris says, has been “to shape and alter the authentic female form and maintain a firm grasp on an otherwise fleeting youth.” Yikes. To tackle this frustrating reality – that individuals who identify as women feel pressure to adhere to certain unattainable ideals pertaining to the perfect female image – Morris created a series of self-portraits. She calls the series “Pretty, Please.”
With vibrant colors and hypnotic prints, Morris places herself at the center of her photos, adorned with the sometimes absurd products marketed toward women in ads and pop culture: acrylic nails, fake eyelashes, velcro curlers, padded bras and distracting baubles. They are the byproducts of rituals women and men have every right to partake in, but that women often feel pressured to use as a means of achieving perfection. Feminine perfection, to be exact. www.allisonmorris.ca