‘ Gender is not a binary – it is a spectrum’-
My artwork focuses on gender binary, and how the dissolution of the two ‘opposites’ allows for new understandings of the individual and how mankind interacts. The gender binary is the classification of sex and gender into two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of feminine and masculine. As one of the core principles of genderism, it can describe a social boundary that discourages people from crossing or mixing gender roles, or from identifying with three or more forms of gender expression altogether. In this binary model, gender, sex and sexuality are assumed by default, for example, a person born male would be assumed masculine in appearance, character traits and behaviour, including a heterosexual attraction to people assigned female at birth.
Because of these preconceived outlines many individuals do not feel free to express their true beliefs and feel pressured to act in a certain way. Time and time again gender roles have proved to be an ancient and arbitrary concept that should not restrict the way someone acts or feels. Inspired by Kumi Yamashita’s body of work ‘Light and Shadow’, that explored her longing for a land that embraced all humanity and ideologies. She uses shadow to define the curvature of the face and the distinction of important features that make up the human body, without defining the shadows gender or race. Kumi stated in an interview that her fascination with shadows came to symbolize another dimension of life, perhaps something even more real than its holder. This concept is extremely worth delving into, as perhaps the only way for progression in a world where gender binary is overly dominated by science and ancient morals. The new dimension? Hold this thought.
The critique of binary oppositions is an important part of many social revolutions that have further influenced an abundance of artists and artworks, such as third wave feminism, postcolonial theory, and post –anarchism. This concept is important to think about when analysing the relationship between binaries, as they can then be critiqued for their flaws and deconstructed to create new concepts and insights.
In my work ‘rendezvous’ I have explored the breaking down of symbols that are seen in society to segregate man and woman, and have further pushed this concept to create a photograph that entails the true nature of being a human. Not man, nor woman, but human. In a single life, any individual will go through countless phases of their life that will inspire and provoke their future self. Sex should not determine the way an individual goes through this self-exploration process. The staggering outlines of side portraits entailing people in my life that have challenged the gender binary, capture the extremely difficult process of self discovery, even more so in this categorised world. However, the colourful, vibrant and bright surroundings of the shadow bring to life the bliss that comes with self discovery, a life that only you entail and a life that it truly yours. Perhaps this life is a new dimension, I guess as individuals we must keep breaking down the gender binary to find out.
16, D. (2015, March 5). Interview with artist kumi yamashita. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from art, http://www.designboom.com/art/kumi-yamashita-interview-03-05-2015/
Killermann, S. (2015, March 17). Breaking through the binary: Gender explained using continuums | it’s pronounced Metrosexual. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/breaking-through-the-binary-gender-explained-using-continuums/
Liberation®, P. (2012, July 3). Shadowlands: Kumi Yamashita shows us the wonders of cast light and form. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/kumi-yamashita
R-C, R. (2016, January 6). “Gender is not a binary, it’s a spectrum”: Some problems. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://rebeccarc.com/2016/01/06/gender-is-not-a-binary/
Binary opposition (2016). . In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_opposition
Barns, J. Interview with artist Kumi Yamashita. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://lockerdome.com/6553689557045825/7472339977771284
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