ARTIST STATEMENT
Florals serve as an enduring inspiration across the arts and fashion. A posy is defined as a small bunch of flowers or bouquets. In slang, it refers to being a “poser” or interested in fashion and the superficial.
Posy is a collection of fashion illustrations that reimagine how we interpret florals in fashion. By pairing themes of inclusion and diversity with floral motifs, these works make a statement about how fashion is so critical of the human body, yet appreciates differences among nature.
My research for this collection entailed studying the representation of bodies, race, and gender within fashion illustration textbooks and how the figure ideal in fashion has transformed. I also investigated the prevalent role of florals in the fine arts, which often enforces female purity and obedience. Posy thus explores the cultural role of flowers at the intersection of identity to cultivate modern understandings of flowers and the body.
