Shelby Head
Providence, RI
My interdisciplinary practice investigates the social and linguistic constructs that shape identity, history, and collective memory in the United States.
MessageThis sculpture stages a violent metaphor: the kneeling non-binary figure entwines with and strangles the female figure, enacting a symbolic “killing of the notion of woman.” The stark black lines become an attack on essentialist categories, dismantling the fixed construct of “woman” imposed by patriarchal and heteronormative frameworks. Yet, this gesture is not about erasing lived experiences of femininity—it exposes how “woman” has been weaponized as a regulatory category, confining identities within narrow definitions. The piece confronts the violence embedded in language and social systems, pushing toward a post-binary existence where identities are not predetermined or policed. The unsettling tension forces viewers to question whether liberation demands dismantling the very idea of gendered absolutes.
- Collections: Am I that Name?
© Shelby Head, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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