Helen Hosick

Artist Statement

I am a multi-disciplinary artist and my practice investigates various themes that fall under the umbrella of feminism. I am currently exploring the female form and how women perceive themselves; specifically how they are using social media to reclaim their bodies and push against the social and cultural perception of how women should appear, especially within mainstream media.

Artists such as Jenny Saville and Marlene Dumas have recently been challenging these perceptions. In her large-scale portraits Saville shows the female form, cellulite and all, rather than conforming to the tenets of traditional portraiture, which does not illustrate the beauty of imperfections. These ideals come from a world dominated by the patriarchy and these norms are only recently being seriously challenged. I use a integrative  approach, favouring digital and three-dimensional practice. In my current project I appropriate texts and images that women have posted of themselves on social media to create work that explores how the female form is displayed. A lot of my non-digital work is linear and I tend to take a minimal approach, which can be seen throughout my portfolio. I intend to continue to develop this theme in both digital and physical works whilst exploring how social media is influencing the female form.