Description
Shedding Light
This mixed-media work explores the fragile boundary between identity, body, and transformation. Created for a Pride art exhibit in Denver, the piece centers on a male figure rendered in vivid pinks, oranges, and deep blacks—colors that evoke both vulnerability and intensity.
The figure appears to be in a state of becoming. His skin, constructed from thin layers of polymer clay, lifts and peels away from the surface of the body, revealing a shifting interior beneath. Rather than suggesting harm, this peeling becomes symbolic—an act of shedding, of releasing what no longer fits. It reflects the process of self-discovery, particularly within spaces that celebrate identity, freedom, and expression.
The use of negative space plays a crucial role. The black voids that move through the body create both fragmentation and depth, allowing the viewer to question what is present and what is absent. The figure is not fully defined—he exists somewhere between form and dissolution.
His gaze is one of the most compelling aspects of the piece. The eyes feel distant yet aware, mysterious yet grounded, as if the figure is both witnessing and experiencing his own transformation.
Surrounding the figure is a hand-crafted border filled with playful, abstract markings—small symbols, lines, and bursts of color that contrast with the intensity of the central form. This frame acts almost like a celebratory boundary, echoing the energy of Pride itself: expressive, vibrant, and unapologetically alive.
Ultimately, Shedding Light is not about the body as an object, but the body as a process—a layered, evolving experience of identity, vulnerability, and emergence.
