My practise has involved exploring pink throughout divers mediums and themes. My starting point was looking at how it is used in such a stereotypically gendered way across Western society. Over time ironically my shame developed into an obsession with pink, and thus now I seek to not only uncover it but also insert it and oversaturate new environments. I have recently started to use digital infrared photography, which originates from the discontinued Kodak Aerochrome film. It is a false-colour infrared film initially intended for aerial vegetation surveys and for military surveys in Africa, registering greens in vivid hues of pink. The medium has a problematic past, and I feel the military link can be used in way to evaluate issues, because it is a very interesting medium historically.

Through my most recent series of images I wanted to re-contextualize the medium and create a soft, surreal, pink dreamlike world where everything is beautiful, to contrast with the original use of the medium. The way infrared photography can create vivid hues of pink in nature captured my attention, and has meant that I have been exploring how to incorporate landscapes into my art. There is also a visual relationship with past romantic paintings of vast landscapes with goddesses posing nude for no apparent reason. This echoes with me as a young woman because of the male gaze, femininity, and working with how it feels to be in my body. The lone figures in the images represent an on going critique of female objectification in my work, and by mimicking classical poses from paintings of Venus by Botticelli or Manet I sought to reclaim my female form as my own. I wanted to create a connection between the romance of those paintings and my landscapes and use the false colours to push against what they represent. The setting feels primal, like the Garden of Eden with my body re-presenting the birth of Venus, the essence of femininity, born as a woman in my body.

Infrared photography also highlights what is hidden; it was used to uncover people that were concealed. Thus this is an important link for me because I often feel invisible. The landscape is a background that holds me, making the invisible visible. It is a way for me to come into my body because I struggle with my appearance, and my social anxiety makes me feel unseen. The images can present me, almost forcing people to see the true me, showcasing myself. The environment is important to me because nature feels non-judgemental; it’s supportive and nurturing, enabling me fit into the world as apposed to being on the edge and awkward.