This assignment was to create a 3D object from plastic recyclable material. This was supposed to be a group project for five students that became a challenge due to the onset of the COVID-19 quarantine requirements. It meant that I was left to work solo on the project with materials available at hand. I learned that the limitation of materials and resources cannot stop me from creating artwork.

The concept behind “Feminine” was prompted by the “Me Too” movement that highlighted often silent suffering, discrimination, abuse, and also unrealistic expectations of women. The sculpture depicts an image of a woman with a blank face covered by a wrap that suffocates her, dressed as a nun, with a wedding dress style bottom.

The woman is deprived of the freedom of self-expression. The head and torso are covered in a fashion that might be reminiscent of modern style but it is really a convent style that is self-restrained due to the anticipation of others. The top represents the expectations of society of her to be a trained professional deprived of emotion, including any pain of abuse and discrimination; while the bottom, wedding dress portion, signifies an expectation to remain feminine and self-expressive - which imposes conflicting and impossible standards. For the Harvey Weinstein’s and Jeffrey Epstein’s of the world, she is just a collection of trash bags.