Artist's Statement

    "[personal] Space Invaders" is made up of rings. When worn on the body, a ring interacts with its wearer in a sensual manner. Subsequently, it affects the wearer's reactions to his or her environment and broadcasts messages (traditionally about relationship status and wealth) to those who see it, making such a form uniquely appropriate to visual discussion of my usual subject matter: women and sexuality as they exist in our society. These works are not about sex itself, but the politicking, behaviors, and attitudes that surround it.
  
    The anthropomorphic Cock Rings address our society's assignment of value to the female body based on its conformity to certain aesthetic standards. When worn on a female hand, the Cock Rings confront the viewer with the entitlement that supports such a male-privileged gaze, and betray the relative lack of importance assigned to male beauty with their own comical appearances. Herp sores are forever plays on the tradition of the ring as a symbol of commitment, as well as functioning as a sort of scarlet letter which advertises the risk of unintentionally forming a "commitment" to a sexually transmitted disease; as an incurable STD, Herpes simplex 2 may well last longer than love, if not so long as a diamond. Scumbags are simple vessel forms which mimic the shape of used condoms. A flagrant representation of waste, these forms confront the viewer with the gross disrespect with which casual sex partners who eschew condoms esteem their consorts: with disdain for the health of the human "vessel," who, after all, is to be cast aside after use. Other pieces speak to the threat of unwanted pregnancy, the fears one harbors when entering a new relationship (or dealing with problems in an existing one), and the passage of time as marked by birth control pills. Life on the Inside, Little Prick, and Lead Weight move from rumination on universal sexual interactions to a more intimate topic, documenting stages of the long, slow death of one of my own relationships.

    The subjects that inform this body of work, the invasion of an uninvited lecherous gaze, the act of physical penetration and subsequent threat of sexually transmitted disease or unwanted pregnancy, the unfortunate reality of being assigned value based on one's perceived sexual attractiveness, demonstrate women's societal status as the lesser sex in a far more subtle fashion than did outrageously misogynist norms of the past. Accordingly, these works are more subtle than that of some earlier feminist artists; they are imbued with a sense of humor and, being small, intrude only into the edges of the viewer's physical space, much like their inspirations hover around the edges of consciousness. Though the topics addressed in these pieces are often dismissed or ignored, they are capable of piercing uncomfortably deep into one's mental space when afforded attention.