ARTIST STATEMENT
For me, being a woman is about finding a voice and understanding where that voice came from. Maybe that voice came from a negative experience, or an empowering one. I express opposition to the oppression that many women and femme-presenting people face or internalize through society’s damaging stereotypes and assumptions.
Some of my work is meant to be empowering, while others shine light on the stereotypes imposed on women and their bodies through the male gaze. “Where is it” is pretty self explanatory…or is it? Every woman is different but yet we all seem to find common ground within the same continuous conversations. By presenting the clitoris in the form of a shiny pearl, it’s almost mocking the viewer, saying, “Hey! I’m right here, where I’ve been the whole time.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Maya Stoker is a jeweler and enamelist based out of Washington State who continually uses her life experiences to create feminist work surrounding societal stereotypes.
© Maya Stoker