Jessica Du Preez

You think I have a “Resting Bitch Face?” Well “This Bitchface Does Not Rest.” And I’m not just any bitch for that matter… My Name is “That Bitch.” How do you define the feminine? Femininity is often reduced to symbols like the color pink, glitter, flowers and butterflies. Well here they are, in your face, yet still “IDFWU (I Don’t Fuck with U).” These are select titles from my recent body of work which candidly considers contemporary concepts like RBF (Resting Bitch Face), the Madonna/Whore complex, catcalling/rape culture (victim blaming, consent), body shame/aversion, and female “hysteria.” My work aims to consider the limitations of binary gender roles and critically question our society of identity policing. I use my own image and experience to pose questions regarding identity, alter ego, female empowerment, self-perception and feminine stereotypes. Some of the mixed-media I use include makeup, glitter, rhinestones, paper flowers, stickers, jewelry chain, and other “gendered” materials. Manipulating scale further questions why we accept the boundaries of established gender limitations. My larger work plays with scale, and as opposed to being diminutive, demands that the women own and take up space. Either to scale, or larger than life, the figures have ownership of their bodies. Often the figures are confrontational in making direct eye contact with the beholder.