Body of Furniture
Body of Furniture is a body of work on womanhood, and intimacy displayed at The University of Tampa’s Student Gallery in the Ferman Center for the Arts which showcases experimental painting and sculpture works from the artist’s senior year at The University of Tampa in December 2022.
My body, female bodies, all bodies, bear the stories and memories and pleasures and aches and pains of generations. There are times when my body feels less human, more object. It is furniture; serviceable and decorative.
My body, an invitation. A one-night stand for easy consumption, a sorry attempt to fulfill some misplaced longing to be needed. Needed in the way that at the end of a long day, one aches for the sunken seat molded to their form as a result of consistent devotion.
My body, a footrest. Contorted into a surface that supports the dirtiest parts of others, fixed to be walked all over.
My body, a cage. Not quite meant to protect what’s inside, but rather a structure to trap itself in. I pass the time picking away at my skin and pressing on bruises, dissecting what it is I’m made up of.
My body, a mirror. A reflection of others’ hunger (and my own aversion) for it. A frame for people to see themselves through.
My body, a collection of heirloom pieces of womanhood, rather than something of my own. Existing in a female body is to exist as an object of desire. Womanhood is just furniture on display.