UNTITLED (FORM) (2020)

Stockings, thread, PET fibre

140 x 130 x 130cm

This work is an exploration into humanity’s desire to categorise and dichotomise objects and bodies. The orifice is a symbol of ambiguity, it is neither in, nor out, it is both an exit and an entryway; it is a site of desire and disgust. The work is made up of many small soft sculptures, each with their own orifice, they have then been sewn together to create a new space. The work both takes up space and creates a new space within the sculpture. Rankin-Cheek’s practice works to discuss and understand gender and bring power to femme bodies, including her own, this work takes up space powerfully and confidently in its fleshy mass, but it also provides a comforting and caring space, due to its soft fleshy nature. The ambiguity of the work is uncomfortable, and yet, entirely familiar and comforting, the work poses questions about the usefulness and meaning of ambiguous bodies, using the ‘orifice’ as a vehicle for better understanding the desire and disgust we feel towards our own, and other bodies.