BREAST UPON HIS BREAST

MEDIUM: OIL PAINT ON WOOD, 26x18cm

“This painting is an exploration into discomfort and the depiction of bodily matter as a metaphor for insecurity. The ouroboros to me is me, the constant scrutinising of my body. Every bit of my lumpy, saggy, hairy, bloating body. I consume and pick apart my exterior. I choke on my own feet like the serpent of perpetuity. 

Entrenched in societal granite, a history of hating women, manifesting in me. How is that fair? I carry the weight of every woman who has breathed before me, like a Sherpa on a mountain. 

The oppressor is me, hungry for more scrutiny. Blatant self-sabotage. The cycle: eating, destructing, dissolving on the tongue. It turns and turns, contorting until I am no longer whole, but only the sum of my insides. Dismantled into all that I am, wet, shiny, lumpy insides. Intestines, liver, marrow and pus. I may as well be an intricate platter of innards, offal. A picking plate.”

Indya Pearce, 22, Meanjin - Australia ✯ IG: @indyapearce.art ✯ YT: @indyapearceart ✯ BACK TO ART: OUROBOROS

“My work spans across multiple disciplines such as painting, photography, drawing and textiles. My subject matter often features oil painted faces and bodies using surrealistic colour palettes. I explore themes of identity, body image and narrative through layered figuration, portraiture and fine details. My current practice looks deeply into ancient mythologies and applies them to contemporary societal contexts.”