Katy Rush

Smoking Conversation Heart Dishgirl
slip cast porcelain
7 x 6 x 2 in.

This work is from a series that draws upon the many images of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ that circulate in the symbolic sphere. That which seems so widespread and constantly encountered that the idea of femininity appears as something more than just a perpetual desire. Femininity is an idealized vision of masked reality, the distorted vision of normal, which is only an impossible physical and social ideal.
My sculptures are created in reaction to how women are portrayed in popular culture and the politics of gender relationships. They relate to how women view themselves and how women are viewed. I present a narrative, using images of women, which explores the expectations of femininity and identity.

The works I produce reference a historical figurine tradition. The porcelain figurine is an image of the perfected female acting out expected social and cultural roles. Figurines function as a form of propaganda, representing a belief system that maintains social strata. I intend with my art to create my own propaganda, which redefines and reestablishes constructs and ideals

© Katy Rush