SB37

“WHY SHOULD I COVER UP?”

41 cm x 29.5

The reason why I decided to create this artwork in the theme of Memory and Resistance is because of the “beauty standard” that the world and society has normalized over many, many years. It is only of recent years that women and girls have started to feel comfortable in their own skin. Social media and any form of imagery of women has shown them as tall, skinny/thin, straight-haired, light of completion, long legs, small waist & flawless skin. Nowadays, woman , girls and many others have started to embrace the fact that we do not need to conform to the stereotypical appearance and trying to normalize things the world has told us that are “imperfections” or “impurities”. Some examples are stretch marks, natural textured hair; textured/ acne prone skin; different skin tones, different cultures, body / facial hair and different body types. These things make us who we are and set us aside from the rest of the world. Photoshop is so deceiving and makes us believe that models , celebrities and people on social media naturally look perfect without being altered to look like that. Not all Photoshop is bad, but it can get to a stage where you can’t even recognize the person or people which gives off a unrealistic idea of how one should look.

This artwork shows how beautiful one can look despite what the world and society says. Yes, social media can cause insecurities and a loss of self-worth, but if these types of things called “impurities” are normalized and shown in everyday life, people will start to see and notice that there is more than just one body type or even face.