I wanted to create a living room environment, one which appeared dated; much like the stereotypes of women belonging in the home. I did not want to create a place where a woman belongs however, but where a woman is trapped.
Each object represents a facet of the struggles young women face when coming of age. A quilt is draped from the chair, riddled with insecurities; some obvious and some only apparent once approached. A cushion coated in human hair, a natural growth most experience but riddled with stigma. A fruit bowl on the table filled with glitter covered fruit, romanticising domesticity and sugar coating the expectations of womanhood. A lamp, covered in a woman’s thoughts beaming onto the room, but not traveling beyond its walls.
I intended for this installation to highlight the issues young women face, and how engrained those issues are into society. How in 2015 young girls are still sold toy cleaning utensils where boys receive plastic guns. Where tampons are taxed as a luxury and razors a necessity. This installation does not solve these issues, but acknowledgment is a nudge in the right direction.
