Sarah Welker

Artist statement

My goal within art is to create space for individuals to feel represented and connected. This showcase would not be what it is without paying homage to some of the things that inspire my art, like my love for music, fashion, my relationships with family and friends, and most importantly, my love for the artist behind it all. This showcase is for the past, present, and future identities of Sarah, and the identities within you that relate to my creations. Whether it¡¯s one or many aspects of identity, making a collection of work to combat the intimidating, stigmatizing, and patriarchal world we live in today is my mission. I enjoy using undertones of heteronormativity, capitalism, and the patriarchy to reclaim the experience of women, queer, and disabled people.

Creating through a Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies lens, I am heavily focusing on the female experience, queerness, and the stigma around women¡¯s sensuality. Empowering the shared experiences of people through design is my way to immerse others into an intersectional feminist perspective. I am heavily inspired by 1940s-1970s retro advertising and the colors, textures, and positioning of women's bodies and power. So many of the problems in the world back then, for example, like disdain for women in power and queerness, are still problems 60, 70, 80 years later. Certain people were and are seen as less than others. In today¡¯s world it is important to me to share the message that all individuals are valuable. One¡¯s heart, one¡¯s passions, one¡¯s queerness, one¡¯s sensuality, one¡¯s femininity, one¡¯s relationships, one¡¯s story, and all the things within each individual makes them and their life valuable.