ARTIST STATEMENT
It is my intent to utilize art as a facilitator for discussion and an instigator for pleasure. My practice is focused on the intersection of femininity and sexuality when interpreting identity. Perhaps I can attribute my passion to being raised without ever receiving “the talk” or because for as long as I can remember I have been fixated on how I am perceived. Therefore my art has become an embodiment of these ruminations. As an interdisciplinary artist, the medium my work takes form in is dependent on what will best translate the concept I am exploring through each piece. For instance, acrylic paints feel as if they flow as smoothly as the soft curves of a body, whereas oils grip the texture of their surface and capture the details in the skin. Digital techniques allow for the possibility of further manipulation while printing practices bring life to a final physical form. My compositions showcase bodies in traditionally femme-presenting methods but use ambiguity, juxtapositions, and positioning to manipulate how the figure is perceived. The praxis of my artistry is to show the feminine form as a subjective being rather than objectified by challenging the gaze. I confront the misconception that femininity is a “woman’s trait” and the preconceived notion that women are only considered feminine in conjunction with their sexuality.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
McKenzie recently graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with her Bachelor’s in Fine Art. Over the course of the last 5 years there, she developed her artistic practice, which includes a multitude of mediums from photography, painting, printmaking, and neon to visual communicative work. From the Chicago area originally, she has recently been exhibiting her work across the city, in addition to working at the SAIC Galleries and launching her own artistic small business Peer Pleasure.
© McKenzie Fitz