Artist Statement
My pieces stylishly show freedom of self expression without the constraints of societal barriers. I wanted to represent trans people and gender nonconformity.
The characters featured in my work, Ava and Evan Seraphine, are twin seraphic angels who guarded the gates of Heaven. They fought in wars, eventually losing their wings in combat and falling to earth. I created the character designs in response to a story written by my friend whose personality reflects Ava. Each character resembles us in some way, similar to that of an alter ego.
These pieces describe the issue with gender norms, societal expectations and cissexism. One of the characters is non-binary; I typically refer to this character with He/They, but they present very femininely and are therefore often perceived as a girl. I designed this character to go along with my own gender identity; I am non-binary and also present femininely. Despite this, I personally feel that feminine labels do not suit me and prefer gender neutral terms. As one’s gender identity cannot be seen, this experience is often disregarded among many around me. In the media I consume there are times where I see characters who present femininely but do not identify as a woman. With these characters I feel represented; I wanted to recreate this feeling for myself. I feel represented in my character “Evan” and hope others do as well or can draw some inspiration from him.