ARTIST STATEMENT
These collages are part of a larger series called “In the Pejorative”, which examines women’s place in the world in relation to the pejorative words specific to women that are frequently aimed at girls and women, young and old. The English language has over 5,000 words that demean, deride and disrespect women and the lexicon of these words keeps growing. These collages are centered on a vintage photo of an anonymous woman and a pejorative word that contradicts or clashes with the image she presents to the world, to highlight the absurdity of the word and its use. Language matters!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Terri Messinides has been an artist since the mid-1990s, first working in clay and now in paper and fiber. She is proud to say that her first accepted entry into a gallery show was at WMG in 1997. Terri is currently living in Madison, Wisconsin and continue to explore the medium of fiber, handmade paper, and collage exploring the issues of social justice, environmental concerns and feminism and women’s rights. She is currently working on a series “In the Pejorative” which includes collage, embroidered words and a compendium of pejorative words aimed at women, which she hopes to publish.
© Terri Messinides