A Study of Femininity: A radically soft portraiture project subverting the abject

  • Cole Ndelu

This series is in response to the idea of the abject. The abject is that which is cast off, considered to be shameful, improper and other. My work undermines the power of the school of thought that associates femininity and blackness with anything other than beauty, resilience and power. The abject is feared because it disturbs the norm, ie; hegemonic masculinity, whiteness and heteronormativity and that’s the intention of this work - to disturb, to challenge ways of seeing those who are othered and to challenge ways of being. As someone who is unapologetic in her femininity, I believe in creating conditions that allow my sitters to be soft, sensual and vulnerable.