I wanted to focus on society beauty standards, so I did my research and came across Jessica Ledwich series called “Monstrous Feminine”. This image captures my attention right away as in how simple beauty standards can harm women. Heels are something that women wear to make them look taller and slim and yet it is very sore to wear it all day. The symbolism of the red liquid at the bottom of the shoes appear to represent blood from wearing the heels. There are also red throughout the whole photograph that seems to represent the same thing. The pale clear skins are also representing the beauty standards to not have any flaws as they are unattractive to the standards.
“Personally, I believe that make up and heels make women feel confident because they are conforming to a social norm that is deemed acceptable”
Jessica explores the complex of the human behaviour to create her images. She was influences by Meret Oppenheim and Hans Bellmer in the early stages. She was also inspired by Guy Bourdin in her dark humour. The series “Monstrous Feminine” was inspired by Barbara Creed’s “Monstrous Feminine” she found the book very interesting in how they portray women in horror films. This made Jessica started to think what other way women are being portray.
Links:
https://metalmagazine.eu/en/post/interview/jessica-ledwich-gore-feminine-beauty
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