Manifesto, 2021, Sculpture of mylar and ink, 122 cm x 91 cm, Photography (17 images), 22 cm x 30 cm each
In Manifesto, the concept of idealism of the male form and its implications in modern bodies is conveyed through installation and performance, both mediums being significant to the concepts at play. The element of installation represents the literal and figurative processes of construction; construction as a labour that relates to ideals of masculinity, but it also relates to the development and performativity of gendered behaviours, insecurities, and expressions.
As I live in this body in and around the pressures of maintenance and adherence to social expectations of beauty, especially as a gay man in Toronto, I consider my own livability as performance. In Manifesto I take selfies in front of a reflective sheet each day that distorts my body, and reflects the warped, and often socially implicated thoughts, and perceptions. that I embody. The selfie is an element of social paradox in which our motivations to take selfies might be inauthentic, performative, and self-absorbed. My reflection becomes the performance, and my documented words are the manifesto.
In Manifesto, the concept of idealism of the male form and its implications in modern bodies is conveyed through installation and performance, both mediums being significant to the concepts at play. The element of installation represents the literal and figurative processes of construction; construction as a labour that relates to ideals of masculinity, but it also relates to the development and performativity of gendered behaviours, insecurities, and expressions.
As I live in this body in and around the pressures of maintenance and adherence to social expectations of beauty, especially as a gay man in Toronto, I consider my own livability as performance. In Manifesto I take selfies in front of a reflective sheet each day that distorts my body, and reflects the warped, and often socially implicated thoughts, and perceptions. that I embody. The selfie is an element of social paradox in which our motivations to take selfies might be inauthentic, performative, and self-absorbed. My reflection becomes the performance, and my documented words are the manifesto.