External Bifurcation

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Dublin Core

Title

External Bifurcation

Subject

LibArt 2024

Description

Oftentimes I have to monitor my actions so that I can fall in line with social expectations externally, this behavior is commonly referred to as masking. I represented these expectations through my image of two halves of a doll. Like a mask, the outer shell can be taken off, it symbolizes the performative nature of what women are expected to behave and look like. The more mechanical, robotic, inner workings of the doll ironically represent freedom, liberation from what you should act and look like. The flowing tendrils of hair show how energetic and free the being is without its outer shell restricting it. The heart-like organ represents its soul but also shows how vulnerable it is without its shell.

Creator

Katie Grear

Date

2024

Rights

Held by creator

Format

Intaglio print on paper

Tags

Citation

Katie Grear, “External Bifurcation,” KU Libraries Exhibits, accessed November 3, 2024, https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/items/show/9231.