This collection of collages serves to present layered metaphors that ultimately seek to explore the dynamic between those who confidently portray themselves in a genuine and authentic way, and the audience that perceives them. As a creator, each project originates from ideas that are entirely unique and specific to the lived individualized experiences up until the time of publication. Putting so much of oneself into a work of art and releasing it to the public to view, admire, and critique is a thrilling experience, but also creates its own anxieties. It is impossible to control the audience of your creation once it is released to the masses, and concerns about misinterpretation and misconstrued meaning are unavoidable.
This dynamic between artist and audience is not unlike that of online models and actresses in the adult entertainment industry. To confidently and proudly display their bodies for the inherent self satisfaction and gratification that comes with being admired by others results in a unique form of creation, and the inability to control who perceives their art brings its own challenges and concerns. Stalking, grooming, and other forms of abuse are prevalent in this industry, and supporting the artists who put themselves in the spotlight is a double edged sword that attempts to both uplift the performer for their craft, while also subsequently perpetuating opportunities to continue the cycle of abuse.
This stigma around viewing and supporting explicit art results in internalized guilt and villanization out of fear of being labeled a creepy pervert. In Perveyor, this internal conflict is made manifest in the form of the monsters taken from retro fantasy magazines and recontextualized with vintage Playboy images. The use of collage for this series plays an important part in its messaging, as it takes the original images and places them into a new unsettling scene that the original artists did not intend. This juxtaposition provides validation to the artist’s anxieties about how their work could be misrepresented and understood, while simultaneously reinforcing the importance of engaging with art according to the way the artist intends to be perceived.
