“Bound” is a three part series featuring three groupings of Chinese women.
It is meant to create a dialogue about the subtle, yet very alive and continual oppression of women through pressures created by society. There has always been a specific ideal image of the Chinese woman that has shifted throughout history. Beginning in the 10th century and lasting until the advent of the Communist reign, Chinese women were expected to partake in the practice of foot binding. By bending, and therefore breaking, their feet into the desired lotus blossom shape, these women were considered socially and economically attractive, as the practice was widespread among the wealthy.
Bound feet were also considered sexually arousing yet many times the process led to gangrene and foul smelling bacteria growth. With physically bound feet, women remained immobile, literally and figuratively, controlled by a male-dominated society in all aspects of their lives. This type of control is not as apparent in today’s society, but its presence still exists in various forms. Chinese women are expected to be quiet, submissive, petite, and pale-skinned while the opposite translates into undesirability.The first piece in the series is a hand bound book, printed on a press using linoleum block and monotype techniques. The faces are visible, but are also blocked by a lotus image to reflect the silence of women under oppression and to function as a reference to bound feet.
Each woman is either a model or a movie star and represents the ideal Chinese woman of modern society. Each face becomes completely visible only when the time is taken to undo the knot that holds the pages the together, otherwise each one remains partially blocked.
