... I was holding my hair ... behind my head ... I was pulling it ... and I was cutting small pieces of it off with a scalpel blade. I mean obviously, the idea of having long hair is always associated with the feminine, but what's interesting I think about this work is that in one sense the cutting away of the hair could almost like a claim toward some kind of female strength or autonomy - kind of like an anti Samson figure. But the way in which the hair is being removed; very very small sections, cut across the back, into the skin, the way that the hair is being pulled back is reminiscent of  rough sex, of being dominated. So ... the sexual element of the work sort of goes against that stronger element and puts me in a position of powerlessness. And also, the way in which the hair is being cut across the back with the blood and the wounding, the hair is literally being embedded into the body into my skin my flesh. This autonomy I spoke of earlier, it comes at a cost ...

​

Excerpt from artist talk for 'Standing Ovation' 

For full talk visit http://www.trocaderoartspace.com.au/artist-talks/