Victoria Campbell

Artist statement

My work attempts to capture how ecofeminism applies to our free will and self expression. I define ecofeminism as the study of the feminization of nature and masculinization of civilization and how society captures, exploits, and domesticates people that are ¡°feminine¡±. The desire to colonize and tame wild forces largely stems from a patriarchal attitude which reflects many current government systems. They have scripted us into specific genders, races, sexualities, and identities. I encourage the viewer to abolish these pressures and expectations and redefine themselves.

Since childhood, these gender expectations have been implemented with gender reveals, toys, and clothes to wear, yet children still have an inspiring sense of wonder and rejection of these norms. I encourage people to revert back to shameless authenticity and connect to their deeper desires and fantasies. As we age there is an increasing pressure to conform to social expectations to prevent people from acting out of free will-if free will does exist. These rigid expectations oppressively shame people into hiding themselves. However, within these limited spaces artists have the chance to discover and capture freedom by transforming the space. 

While I take on the position of the artist and reformer, I transform the space by using the string and expectation I¡¯m tied to and weave them into a work of my own. These works are a display of myself reclaiming identity and reconnecting to my authenticity in correlation with nature. Where oppressors have dominated these spaces that I¡¯m supposed to keep quiet, you can hear the screams emerge from paintings. Art does not need a mouth to talk. Just like flowers burst through sidewalks, you can also become free from the box you¡¯ve been put in and transform the pattern if not influence it.

Here, I attempt to invoke your inner artist in order to discover the path towards free will and encourage you to be chained to finding and being yourself.