AUB Graduate Exhibition

Chloé Lane Vanity 2021 Latex, Acrylic, Polyurethane Foam, Satin, Clay, False Lashes, Glitter, Adhesive, Epoxy Resin, Plaster, Mod Rock, Acrylic Mirror, Eyeshadow, Spray Paint, Rug, Wig, Belly Ring, Cardboard, Fluffy Material, Aluminium Tinfoil, MDF 155cm x 183cm x 195.5cm Photo by Chloé Lane Vanity is very much concept driven with feminist undertones, drag and thoughts around queerness heavily influencing the work. Chloé explores drag within her practice in response to her own personal feelings of unbelonging, using drag as escapism from reality. A significant feature that protrudes within Vanity is its funhouse like, distorted appearance; this is demonstrated by the abnormally large nail polish and lipstick. Chloé uses humour within her work to draw viewers in, we can see this by the use of exaggerated scale, the size of the lipstick and nail varnish is a way of mocking societies beauty standards. By re creating an object that once held feelings of self-objectification and hyper sexualization and transforming it into a parody piece, Chloé rebels against the unachievable beauty standard that commands women to be this ‘perfect’ image. This action of reclaiming once societal conforming tools such as makeup also extends into the artists overuse of the colour pink. A colour that is stereotyped as a predominantly feminine colour that is often used to belittle the gender. The overt and excessive use of pink within the piece is a reference to past confused feelings around hyper femininity,Chloé uses it here to claim back ownership over her own femininity, proving that you can be feminine and not be heterosexual.