Crossing the Line

This is a series of paintings which somewhat playfully explore fluidity of gender, ethnicity and physical ability as sited on the body. Gender fluidity has been the subject of exploration, expression and question in art for some time: I made my first artwork on the subject in 2012.

However whether a person is choosing some fluidity in their gender identity or not, they are still a person with other aspects of identity which intersect, sometimes in a major way, sometimes in an apparently detached manner. So here I wanted to explore fluidity of the main expressions of identity which are physically seen on the body.

In preparing the ideas for these paintings I collaborated with an AI app and trained it with images from a workshop with painter Sheila Wallis, fashion photographer Francisco and model Pavel.  AI brings a child-like naivety to subjects like this. It is unaware of the baggage we attach to the colour of our skin, gender and physical ability and limitation. The resulting images were then developed further in Photoshop before becoming the basis for each painting.