ARTIST STATEMENT
Sexuality is public; it is tight shorts, sculpted jaws, lace camis, leather pumps, and pecs peeking through a worn tee shirt. Sex is private; intimacy between partners, viewing pornography, texting dirty messages, and masturbation. One is flirty. One is shameful. My work is an exploration of sexuality, pop culture, and womanhood. Using photography and video I look at vulva decorations, the lives of sex workers, and how one learns gender.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Samantha Lyn Aasen is an artist adapting to the southwest, as she holds on to her Midwestern mentalities. Her suburban upbringing has her questioning female relationships and societal standards on sexuality. Samantha identifies herself as a feminist artist. She uses her art as an exploration of desire and repulsion embedded in girlhood and within American consumer culture. Samantha has had exhibitions in Indiana, Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, Maryland, and the UK. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Photography from Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University and a Studio Art MFA with an emphasis in Intermedia from Arizona State University. Recently she attended the Feminist Artist Conference Residency in Toronto, Canada. Currently, she teaches at Phoenix College and volunteers with Girls Rock! Phoenix.
© Samantha Lyn Aasen