Exhibition dates: 19 Feb - Sun 1 March , 2020

Solo Show
A typical?
Stacey Korfiatis

As the vessels that house human consciousness, our bodies map the course of our lives. From birth, the scars, wrinkles, freckles and “imperfections” we collect tell our individual stories - charting the growth and change of each unique experience. A typical? is a series of hyperreal paintings; un-airbrushed, unaltered portraits that empowers the subject and viewer by challenging conventional definitions of beauty.

Each model who volunteered to be painted for Atypical? describes themselves as having a disability, or a part of their body that does not conform to Western beauty standards. Many of the models also manage mental illness and/or sit somewhere within the LGBTIQA+ spectrum. Baring all: surgical scars, birth marks, stretch marks, wrinkles, and body hair, each model stands before you, allowing the effects of time and experience to tell their story.

While many of these models require mobility aids, appearing with neither aid nor costume circumnavigates the reflexive othering the perception of difference can trigger, drawing the viewer instead to ask “how are we similar?” Atypical? rejects the notion that beauty is homogeneous, and the existence of a universal norm for beauty with respect to age, sexuality, gender, ability or skin tone. Atypical? celebrates the magnificence of bodies whatever their appearance.

Sponsored by City of Yarra