Image
Mirror Painting
Carmen Flores
My second piece is another oil painting self portrait I created for my painting class in 2020. We had full control over the subject as long as it contained a figurative form. I decided to paint another honest self portrait but this time focusing on my body. I wanted this piece to reference classical nude portraiture in which women's bodies are objectified and sexualized by the voyeuristic gazes of their largely male painters. I subvert this by painting myself as honestly as possible. While I am wearing sexualized clothing, the finished painting lacks sexualization and referenced the constant pressure that social media puts on female presenting bodies.
