My work is a balance between chaos and control, between rebellion and conformity. I build, photograph, print, and paint; I assemble and dismember. In my studio, with easily accessible materials, I manipulate all aspects of image capture and printmaking until I reach a point where any addition or subtraction is no longer necessary. I balance this need for rigorous control by using intermediary techniques and materials to introduce uncertainty into the process. Nothing is ever completely destroyed and nothing is ever really finished. What is always consistent within my work is the narrative of the Lost Girls.
I created the Lost Girls–fifty plaster coated vintage dolls—in 2014. After recoloring and renaming them, I capture their new alter egos through photographic portraits. With these images I create larger mixed media works on canvas, plywood and paper using a combination of digital and analog collage and acrylic, oil and spray-paint. I find my inspiration in the intersection of a Midwestern childhood in the 1970s and 80s, emphasizing themes of isolation and neglect, and the evolving contemporary cultural and social dynamics, especially third and fourth-wave feminism and pop culture. I use world-building as a tool to explore the influence of shifting social norms on personal relationships, drawing inspiration from artists like Trenton Doyle Hancock and Grayson Perry.
Website: www.stephanietodhunter.com
Instagram: @stephanietodhunterart
Manager: Jerome Street Studios, 128 Jerome Street, West Medford, MA
Programming Manager: Cambridge Art Association
Board Member: Cambridge Art Association
One thought