Saturday, 1:45-3pm, SSW 2.122
This panel
explores the role of control garments in societal views of the fat body,
through a series of multi-media projects. Large close-up photographs depict
portions of a fat naked woman; the impressions of a too-tight girdle remain
imprinted on her flesh. A related video performance shows the artist, dressing
herself in endless layers of constricting body-slimmers, bodices, and corsets,
her labored breathing forming the soundtrack. Once fully encased and no longer
able to breathe, the artist disrobes, loosening strings, unhooking, expanding,
until she is naked. This work highlights the price paid each day for social
approval, and how many women twist and debase their bodies to conform to the
expectations of others.
Come check it out! You'll learn about the body and its relationship to fatness and sexuality.
Presenter and performer Erin Zerbe is a multimedia artist working in video, photography, performance, and new media. She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Kinetic Imaging and Art Foundations Departments.
