abigail (2024): calarts midresidency
this gallery is a response to the notion that my body is the site of a tragedy, that the scars on my chest and the hair on my stomach is indicative of a casualty. i feel that this notion is a disgusting misstep, and having my body infantilized and simultaneously reduced to my ability to reproduce has made me obscure and despise the girl i used to be. reclaiming my body and my life is so important to me, and also acknowledging that the women in my life are the ones who have shaped me, and that as people with a “girlhood”, historically we are stripped of or denied the viscera and flesh that makes us humans. i’m not scared of the fact that i was raised as a girl, i feel so embraced by that fact. to reduce me down to what i used to have, or what i'm missing now, is to act as though i am not here in the present moment, standing and breathing before you. abigail is about the girl i was forced to mourn.