“I started painting the creases and folds in fabric, together with very close details of the human body, so that the viewer is left guessing where one ends and the other begins. It all started because I was thinking through how society tells women my age that they need to be a particular size; they need to be skinny, to be fit. I have issues with that, so the paintings are about how, when you’re zoomed in closely enough, the details about our bodies --- the creases in a person’s neck or the wrinkles around the eyes --- are similar for everyone regardless of what you’re wearing, what you look like, or what color your skin is. I like exploring textures, contrast, angles, fluctuations of light, and the beauty and similarities between human skin and the folds and lights of fabric. My work is about being okay with yourself without worrying about anyone else’s input or about traditional views of aesthetics. I find self-acceptance as I paint and explore these processes, and I work through my own problems through being very detail-oriented and precise. I’ve begun looking for that sense of perfection in my paintings now rather than in myself. Something man-made can be perfected, but something organic --- like a human being --- cannot. There’s only so much you can change about it.”
Photos below courtesy of Kristin Petersen:
Kristin Petersen, artist
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