ORLAN is a contemporary French artist known for the radical act of changing her appearance with plastic surgery in the name of art. Similar to the self-portraits of Cindy Sherman, whom I’m also currently very interested in, ORLAN uses her face and body as malleable tools for shifting identities. “I have been the first artist to use aesthetic surgery in another context—not to appear younger or better according to the designated pattern. I wanted to disrupt the standards of beauty,” she explained.
I’m hugely interested in the monstrous aspect of her performance work, as well as her portrayal as famous figures of women, such as Venus in her Incidental Striptease series. This links to my monstrous women chapter in my dissertation, where I look into characters such as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl and Villanelle in Killing Eve, who are both monstrous women who are both empowering and valid feminist characters of women. I’m hoping to translate this inspiration onto my future work, as well as Cindy Sherman’s work, and look into how I can transform women’s bodies into fetishised foods of our body parts.
saratrouble 