Anthropometry: 30 weeks pregnant
2018. Acrylic on paper, 50cm x 70cm unframed, 63cm x 83cm framed.
Towards the end of my third pregnancy I began a series of print works on paper using acrylic paint applied to my body. I applied the paint, thickly with a sponge and carefully lowered my nude body to the paper where my breasts and enlarged uterus created an enduring mark that would live beyond the fleeting months of pregnancy.
The performative nature of this weekly ritual explored the change and physical growth of my body over time. Time is full of contradictions: our experience of it, the relativity of it, as well as the subjective nature of linear time.
This medium and process was inspired by Yves Klein’s “Anthropometry” series. Except that in these self-portraits, I was the creator as well as the living paintbrush.
© Shelley Watters