This series of drawings, entitled Coping Mechanisms, emerged from a season of contemplating trauma and the ways we either process or ignore these events. The figures are presented in austere, psychological spaces as strategically differentiated media dissect the forms. The contortions originate from a midcentury text marketed to women, entitled Personality Unlimited, that focuses on beauty tips, posture, étiquette and exercises to augment body parts; all in an effort to become “more attractive.” This quest for improving the self via outward endeavors or to defy age seems oddly contemporary, perpetuating a fear of never being quite enough. The poses and faces originate from the text, yet the limbs and hair are mostly mine, presenting an indirect, masked self portraiture. in this series.
