What Am I to You?

What Am I to You? questions the role of women in contemporary American society and the transition into womanhood. Inspired by the recent regression of women’s rights and the normalization of misogyny in power, the series explores the objectification of women and the timing of that reduction to a mere sexual object, things often defined not by choice, but by society and cultural norms.

In this surreal body of work, I replace Magritte’s iconic male figure with a vinyl blow-up doll, a hollow, mass-produced symbol of feminine objectification. I replace the green apple with contemporary emojis of sexuality, the cherry and the peach, shifting the conversation to today’s digital shorthand for desire and purity. Each painting stages the female body as both subject and commodity, reflecting the dissonance between autonomy and the projections placed upon women in modern culture. As the subject becomes aware, the fruit falls away and the subject reclaims agency. Eyes signaling awareness and readiness to challenge.

Through this series, I invite viewers to confront their own assumptions: What role have you taken on and is it what you want? What roles do we want our daughters to see and value? Can we influence the role we play in our home, our work, and within our community with more intention?