Sensual Encounters

Farey’s intaglio prints in this series Sensual Encounters (2018) revolve predominantly around the subject of the female body and perceptions of female pleasure, through examining representations of this throughout history, and in modern media. Every woman walks through this world with a unique and different experience, and my aim is to explore and investigate this through my art and my own shared experiences. In a world where the act of looking is split between active/male and passive/female, Farey creates these prints in attempt to question the tradition of women as being simultaneously looked at and displayed.

Laura Mulvey’s 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' (1975) and John Berger ‘Ways of Seeing’ (1972) initially prompted my interest in this subject. It was not until I delved into this genre of literature that I could make better sense of my own experiences as a woman and put these experiences into concrete terms and expressions. The representation of the passive female nude figure throughout art history has been remarkably catered towards men and the active male gaze. Despite there being a significant amount of discourse in this subject, this objectification and traditional exhibitionist role of women is still prominent today in popular media, entertainment, pornography etc.

This series of six prints challenge the way that women are viewed and portrayed. Each print questions the varying elements which have an impact on the way we see. By confronting and experimenting with elements like composition, color, playing with old and new, history and modernity, and elements of representation - my work does not aim to shock or surprise, but rather encourage the viewer to be aware of the way they are viewing the subjects, and allow for viewers to seek their own interpretation.