The Fisherman, 2003 40 x 30in

The overall framework of the project is the development of a fictional fishing village with characters that are the key by which you understand the relationships and structure of the town. Presented as photographic tableaus, the characters are derived from my conscious and subconscious perceptions, desires and experiences.

And although I play all the characters in a series of private performances, my interest has not been in upsetting gender roles but examining those to which I subscribe my subconscious expectations and exploiting those with the freedom to which I can play each myself. Inspired by works of historical painters such as Artemesia Gentileschi, George de La Tour, and Manet, and then executed in a manner reminiscent of the tableau vivant, I undermine this familiarity with an accompanying story that, although makes sense to the scene, does more to elaborate on the psychological make-up and condition of the characters. What is perhaps the most apparent condition of the citizens are that they are identified by their employment within the town of Hope as well as the somewhat traditional roles they occupy; the Doctor as male, the Seamstress as female, the Fisherman as male etc. The contradiction here, however is that the Doctor is not male, only portrayed as such by a woman and that the Seamstress is the same male character that is portrayed by the body she creates. This process sets up a series of gender related interpretations.

The Seamstress, 2001 40 x 30in

Although the work resists a 'cross-dressing' reading, there is still a sense of roll playing that occurs with cross-dressing. What does it mean that I am playing both parts in this narrative and that the gender defines the difference? The resulting ambiguity becomes not only perverse, but the crux of the work.