Artist Spotlight: Loreal Prystaj expands on her hi~noon edition 4th July
I made the work 4th of July whilst visiting my family’s home in suburban New York. Finding myself re-acquainted with household items, objects and motifs that represented the passing-down of performative gender roles for women in the domestic sphere, I wanted to break the chain of performances and create a work that disrupted those conditioned behaviors. The title 4th July draws attention to the American Independence and ideas of liberation and tries to question within that context the role of women.
In the self-portrait, there is a further portrait of a woman, my great-great-aunt. She is looking to the side, averting the gaze of the viewer, a traditionally passive portrait, beautiful and well put together, almost like an object to look at. I wanted to disrupt the tradition by putting myself firmly in the middle of the scene, performing as a prop erotically to destabilize the normalcy of these familiar environments. Humour is important to me as a tool to reverse the gaze - shown by my cat who is making eye contact with the viewer. The pussy is looking back…
