ARTIST STATEMENT: ALLISON MORRIS

This work is inspired by the work of surrealist painter, Rene Magritte: “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” This work is an exploration of the norms and expectations that construct and constrain the feminine body. This series of self-portraits presents the artist’s body in monstrous, amorphic, and covered forms that blur the line between woman and object, challenging the boundaries of the feminine body and what it represents. Taking inspiration from historical, mythological, and religious representations of women, these forms aim to create a sense of voyeuristic intrigue as well as repulsion in its audience, drawing attention to the fear surrounding feminine nature, sexuality and strength. They raise the question of what these concealed figures reveal about what lies beneath.

ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT

LUMPS

BIRDS

PENANCE

THE BRIDAL PARTY

BOUNDARIES

THE LONG NECK

COVEN

TWO PLACES

Allison Morris is a fine art photographer based in Montreal, Quebec. Her practice explores themes of female representation, the construction of gender, beauty, and performance from a feminist perspective. Through the use of self-portraiture and traditionally feminine materials, Allison’s work intends to challenge our perceptions of the body and the boundaries it creates. Allison completed her BFA at the Ontario College of Art & Design in 2015 and has since shown work internationally in Florence, Rome, Belgrade, and Nurri, Sardinia. She recently completed her first artist residency in Sardinia and has had her work featured in numerous publications including The Huffington Post.

“What Is Hidden by What We See” was chosen as the runner-up in this year’s 2019-20 Ryan R. Gibbs Award for Photography, judged by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. Please see our contest page for more information.