Artist Statement
Mink Portraits
Several years ago, I created a body of work that spoke to Canadian identity through the use of animal fur. The work portrayed images of people that are integral to Canadian History, such as early explorers and the French and English Monarchy. This work was well received and traveled across Canada in public galleries and artist run centres. When I entered the University of Calgary to embark on a Master’s degree, I made a conscious decision to leave fur behind and explore other media. The theme of “Canadian Identity” shifted to that of “feminine identity” and I explored this with acrylic paint, using it as a fibre to knit, sew, quilt, and even create 3-dimensional “stuffed animals”. I left fur, but somehow it didn’t leave me. It is spread out in my studio once again, and the loose fibres tickle my nose as I type this.
While my earlier work used beaver fur extensively to comment on Canadiana, I am now working exclusively with mink. Mink is the epitome of luxury, the embodiment of the feminine, and a potent symbol of the male/female power relationship. I am very interested in the fact that viewing fur in this light allows me to explore both national and feminine components of identity simultaneously. A mink coat is often a gift, given from a man to a woman. It is ridiculously expensive; a high quality, custom made coat can easily cost $15,000. When this gift is accepted and wrapped around the shoulders, what are the implications?
It is complicated being a woman. As a young woman I cherished my independence yet regularly submitted my freedom and aspirations to whatever relationship that I was in. Later, I married, and when the biological hour could no longer be ignored I had a child, and then another. Now I am happy, in love and have a toddler and a baby, and my independence lies in shambles. My financial contribution to the family is challenged and any spare moment is hard fought and guilt ridden. None of this is new to the female experience but I find myself continually surprised by its pervasiveness.
As a partial response to my new identity as a mother, I am exploring the feminine by creating portraits of women with mink fur. I am revisiting the techniques that allowed me to create the earlier fur portraits, but this time using images that speak to the womanly facets of sensuality, motherhood and age. Marilyn Monroe was the first in this series, representing the ultimate sex symbol. Later I did my friend Danielle and her baby Taylor, as we were “out west” snowmobiling in the country near where we live. It is something that we love to do, and the snapshots that I take usually tell the story of the men on the machines and the women around the fire with the children. This is not a reality that I am upset about, it is just reality. Next I did a self-portrait with my baby, in a moment where we spent a large majority of his first months of his life, in bed, feeding and napping. Finally, I chose Celine because she represents the “princess” complex, and because she is the Princess who has made her Fairytale come true. The series is ongoing and I am most interested in pursuing portraits of the women in my personal life. In all of these pieces, the mink fur speaks to the conflicted and complex state of the feminine identity. This identity is never straightforward, just as fur itself is a paradox, being the softest manifestation of power, and the sensual result of violence.
