a series by Sally Heller
There is an ongoing ambiguity around scantily clad female images that both celebrate and degrade. What I like about her is her verve, promising something elusive and desirable.
Found on internet porn sites, the images of the women are applied using a stencil. The images are then layered with transfer letters, decals, scraps of gold and silver foil, and words relating to her persona as a female sex worker, and the ordinary demeaning slang used to shame (all) women through the denigration of body parts: tatas, taco, gash. I think as well of words as armor, and what sort of armor is needed for this vocation. All of these imprints, marks, signs, and signals, combined with the original image, also reference the abbreviated language of sexting and texting so common today in popular culture.
In the process of rubbing off letters with my nubby pencil and in the immediacy of watching her image appear, I feel a joy. Sometimes the letters block her outlines, but thats okay. Her image becomes a dialog between us. By bringing these images to the fore, I hope to challenge and re-examine outdated attitudes that marginalize and victimize, without obscuring the conditions and circumstances that often lead women to this work. Her image now, like our language, can be assessed and interpreted in many different ways.