Barbie

Emily Johnson

ARTIST STATEMENT

My piece ‘Barbie’ was inspired by the standards that people force on women in an American society. Her proportions are taken from the original Barbie doll but I warped her back in order to show the damage that having a body that shape can do. In order to make her body balanced, I had to make her back cave in because her breasts and hips were too large. For me, my body has always been a struggle for me to be happy with, especially with today's standards. I've always either been tol thin or too fat and I'm finally comfortable with the idea that my body is perfect for who I am. Most of my pieces are in line with my belief that society takes women and puts them into a box that is unhealthy for them to be in. I used blue to glaze her so that I can show that she isn't just feminine and there are flowers on her hips in reference to women being called “delicate flowers”. ​