I love cartoons and toys and I’ve never grown out of them … cartoons make me laugh and cry and are so full of emotions! I got diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum a few years ago and maybe I relate to cartoons and toys because their faces and body language is so easy to read, unlike many people who hide their intentions and don’t always say what they mean but expect you to interpret subtle queues. My house is filled with vintage and previously unloved toys and to me they all have obvious little personalities!
I am also really interested in the gender of cartoons … how, like people, they are prescribed a gender at conception… whether in the artists mind before pencil hits paper or when the image emerges and the creator say “ahh this one is a girl or boy “… why can’t they be gender fluid … would people still relate to them ? Would they be harder to read ?
I’m also interested in the connection between autism and gender … a large amount of people on the spectrum struggle with gender identity… is this because gender is another social construct that autistic or neuro diverse find hard to understand… because like much of the socially constructed world it doesn’t make sense ?
I am not an expert in gender studies or neurodiversity and not formally trained expect for a semester of gender studies in my undergrad …however I have consumed many text books on the subject and these are just my personal musings …
I love drawing erotica and the female figure… and I love cartoons and kitschy toys and one day they just merged together and these questions arose.
This series is my attempt to delve deeper and understand neurodiversity and gender… on the surface the works are just quirky pop art but they are my attempts to find a deeper understanding to the complexity of gender and neurodiversity! I hope you enjoy them
Figures are reverse painted on transparent acetate with gouache, then the acetate is placed on a background layer of ink on Yupo or plain paper to take the photos. Background variations are endless! All A3 in size.
