‘Natural Sex’ includes ‘The Vulva Project,’ 'The Penis Project,' and additional photographic and mixed media creations that depict our collective experience within the realms of sexuality and sensuality on our planet at this time.
THE VULVA PROJECT
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Photo (above) is first large scale mixed media piece (crystals, paint, dead snake, flowers, leaves paint on photo and wood encased in resin) from the Vulva Project, Size 40x60"
This series is by far the most vulnerable of all my work. Stemming from years of sexual trauma on a personal and collective level, this new series explores that which is most judged and objectified in our society. For years my work was only about the innocence of the human form, in fact I was scared to talk about sex, I didn’t know what to say. As time moves on and as I become more comfortable with words, I’m learning to follow my heart and speak my mind. A victim of the system, myself, and almost all women and men on this planet, living at this time, have been manipulated in some way by the porn industry and mass media. What is sex? What is the vagina? Pussy? What do you even call this part of the body? Vulva, yoni… after doing a lot of research and soul searching, along with talking to many women, the consensus is that there is no good word for the most sacred part of the female body. What a perfect metaphor. What does this say about this body part? About women? Sexuality? These are some of the questions that I’m currently exploring as I move forward in this part of my healing journey. The root and sacral chakras are often overlooked. In addition to my ongoing classical nude in nature series, I feel a moral imperative to move forward with this art, however shocking, enlivening, beautiful, repulsive or offensive it may be. Why can we look at a close up photo of an eye, mouth, skin folded in the stomach, back and yet when we bring the camera close to this part of the body, all of a sudden something happens to the viewer. The impact is greater. I remember visiting the Guggenheim a few years ago in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I wandered into a room, a small to medium sized exhibition of Mapplethorpe’s explicit erect penis’ and graphic depictions of the male. Why is this in a museum, more photos of men taken my men, alongside photos of women taken by men. It is an honor and privilege to live in a time where I’m able to play with my female gaze, creating, curating and sharing my visions with the world. I hope that you’ll see and experience this therapy with me, and join in this collective movement to sexual and sensual liberation.
Another mainstream conversation that is happening today regarding body parts, is the dialog surrounding the concept of, or word, “sex.” Not just sex as a verb or action but as a noun, as a descriptor of gender. What is gender? Body parts? What is the meaning behind this all? What is normal? Despite where you may fall on the spectrum of gender identity, nearly every modern man or woman, has fallen victim to the unattainable standard of beauty set forth from the mainstream. Taking the issue of body image to a deeper and more intimate place, the topics of sexual identity and gendered body parts arise. One of the many sad realities of the porn industry in addition to the negative psychiatric side effects produced by the mass media in general, has been the normalization of mutilation around the most sensitive parts of our body. One of the intentions behind ‘the Vulva Project’ or ‘Natural Sex’ is to normalize reality, truth and diversity in beauty. Labiaplasty, sex changes and alterations, especially among the youth are some of the most prevalent surgeries and conversations in our society today. Of course as humans we all question what is normal, especially as we grow into our adult selves. My hope is that with this project and series, we can begin to expose some truth and beauty around the most sacred parts of the female form, teaching our fellow women, men and children to love the parts of themselves with which they are born. Physical change is not needed when the mind moves into a place of self love and acceptance. This journey into physical and mental liberation, surrounding my body on all levels, has been very personal for me over the first decade of my adult life. I’ve seen, felt and experienced so much shame and hatred toward my body and toward each intricate part. My hope is that by sharing these revelations, visualizations and artwork, we can begin to see every part of ourselves as perfect, beautiful, a work of art. Scars, colors, skin, shapes are all a part of nature, telling stories and offering visual abundance beyond our wildest dreams.
Another mainstream conversation that is happening today regarding body parts, is the dialog surrounding the concept of, or word, “sex.” Not just sex as a verb or action but as a noun, as a descriptor of gender. What is gender? Body parts? What is the meaning behind this all? What is normal? Despite where you may fall on the spectrum of gender identity, nearly every modern man or woman, has fallen victim to the unattainable standard of beauty set forth from the mainstream. Taking the issue of body image to a deeper and more intimate place, the topics of sexual identity and gendered body parts arise. One of the many sad realities of the porn industry in addition to the negative psychiatric side effects produced by the mass media in general, has been the normalization of mutilation around the most sensitive parts of our body. One of the intentions behind ‘the Vulva Project’ or ‘Natural Sex’ is to normalize reality, truth and diversity in beauty. Labiaplasty, sex changes and alterations, especially among the youth are some of the most prevalent surgeries and conversations in our society today. Of course as humans we all question what is normal, especially as we grow into our adult selves. My hope is that with this project and series, we can begin to expose some truth and beauty around the most sacred parts of the female form, teaching our fellow women, men and children to love the parts of themselves with which they are born. Physical change is not needed when the mind moves into a place of self love and acceptance. This journey into physical and mental liberation, surrounding my body on all levels, has been very personal for me over the first decade of my adult life. I’ve seen, felt and experienced so much shame and hatred toward my body and toward each intricate part. My hope is that by sharing these revelations, visualizations and artwork, we can begin to see every part of ourselves as perfect, beautiful, a work of art. Scars, colors, skin, shapes are all a part of nature, telling stories and offering visual abundance beyond our wildest dreams.
THE PENIS PROJECT
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Just as shame has saturated the minds of women, especially surrounding the sexual organs, men experience a heightened sense of awareness around the penis. In recent years I have met friends, clients and lovers who have shared their feelings and body sensitivity with me. Some have asked me and some have allowed me to photograph this part of them in the hopes of sharing their own imperfections or subjective objectives selves with the world... it is ok to be any size or shape. Unlike Mapplethorpe's large, erect penis,' I have been able to capture this body part from the female gaze, in a soft, less competitive nature. This series, along with the vulva project, is a natural evolution and has occurred from a supernatural series of events and serendipity.
