Rachel Morris

Statement

I am nonbinary and queer studying the erasures of identity through social interactions. This work is an attempt towards control of information through the layering of transparent materials which highlight both what is seen and what is unseen. The viewer is led into a false sense of visibility within a constructed space of self-reflection and redirection. This liminal space of queerness reflects the constant change I undergo to understand my own identity and the space I deserve as part of society. Photographs of myself are deconstructed into layers, where the deletion of photographic information is achieved through digital manipulation which allows a certain slippage throughout the creation of my work. Historically portraits are meant to depict human subjects to be identifiable and memorialized. However, more than a physical likeness, they encapsulate the inner essence of the person. I utilize the importance and recognizability of the portrait to reclaim my identification and to create conversations surrounding gender, representation of self, and perception.

Because my process of printmaking is rooted heavily in the exploration of my own identity it has brought me a deeper understanding of myself. Deconstructing and rebuilding the self-portrait, I present the viewer with an image and call it self even though I take information away so that I am unable to be recognized easily. This version of self is abstracted through moire patterns and screen printing processes, creating optic shifts, calling for curious new viewpoints. The traditional process of CMYK layering is physically separated, each bitmapped color on its own plane. Slotted together they are solidified by metal accents, unmoveable. CMYK conventionally recreates photographic images, utilizing the four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black to blend and produce a wider range of colors and mimic realism. I corrupt this process by separating the layers and removing the definite indicators of myself. The viewer is left to digest levels of colors and dots that refuse to define me. Through this quiet yet bold resistance to conformity, I place work upon the viewer to take in and see myself in their own ways.