A blueprint for the human body?

"From my gaze as a plus-sized woman, the mannequin becomes a mental paragon to me, one which I do not exist within.  It is an image of perfection, the icon of what I refer to as "industrialized idealism".  Through the concept of blueprinting, my work challenges the constructs of industrialized idealism by juxtaposing images of my own body with those of mannequins, to provoke questions such as, 'Can there be a blueprint for the human body?'"--Joanna Critchlow

I'm fascinated by the dynamics of masking and unmasking, to be literal; the faces we wear and why and when and how we wear them. I have several I think, as do many of us. Sometimes we all want to be unrecognizable, a deliberate riddle or barely concealed as if wearing wax. I'd been feeling a little constricted recently by my own ideas of meaning and relevance. I had forgotten the advice I read in a Marie Claire magazine (I think) when I was probably 15, "Do what you love and the rest comes." I focussed externally, on what I thought I was being perceived as and not on finding my voice. That's not usual for me and I was, for a while, pretty annoyed with myself. I received an email today from someone who has not only encouraged me before but who made me realise why I want to do this. I have to do, the rest is there, coming. I'm looking in and jumping out--Brianna McCarthy




BOTH artists are in conversation on Saturday night at ALICE YARD.