ARTIST STATEMENT
“filteredbody” is a series of (six) self-portraits wherein I objectify the parts of my body which would be considered flawed by the body standards promoted on social media. In the work, I physically distort my body with my hands to exaggerate flaws, texture, and fluids to make each part appear grotesque and abject – a manipulation that is obvious to the viewer and which they can acknowledge as a form of “negative” filter. I intend to reject the notion that a body needs to comply with any aesthetic standard to be worthy of representation and instead should be celebrated for its miraculous function.
Each photographed body part is shown in a square format, replicating the commonly used ratio of Instagram, and is displayed in a lightbox to mimic the backlit conditions of a phone. In addition, I note the top 30 most popular hashtags for the body part underneath each image.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nelson (she/her) is a contemporary conceptual artist based in London. Primarily working in performance, Nelson explores themes of trauma, memory, and self-identity in her work.
Much of Nelson’s work plays with the idea of the abject, and she often mixes uncomfortable visual metaphors with dark humor believing that this will make the work resonate longer with the viewer.
Nelson considers her work part of the autoethnographic tradition – she uses episodes from her own story as the source of her work, believing it will yield insights about issues in our wider society, particularly around how women are treated and how childhood trauma affects us as adults. She invites the audience to use the visual interpretations of her experiences as a springboard to explore their own.
© Nelson