The Vitruvian (?)

Photo collage on construction paper

12 in. x 12 in.

2024

 The Vitruvian (?) was my first foray into emulating Renaissance works. This piece is a collection of multiple body parts, from people of all ages, genders, races, and shapes, morphed together over the iconic image of Leonoardo DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man his idea of what “perfect” proportions, and a “perfect” body look like. 

However, in my version, the face and genital area have been intentionally obscured. In this way, I am not only questioning DaVinci’s idea of perfection, but also society’s at large. What is perfection? What is a perfect face, or a perfect chest, or a perfect stomach, or perfect legs? Despite the fact that we have set a standard for what that might be, every person's individual idea of “perfect” all look different. Your idealized self is not mine, and my idealized self is not yours. This amalgamation of combined bodies into one shows that while there may be no such thing as the perfect body, all bodies – male, female, trans, intersex, and otherwise – can be their own definition of perfect.