interview: vanessa swift and a celebration of the female form
Although it seems we’ve still got a bit of fighting to do, I think we’re slowly making headway on our mission to devoid the public of any ideals they have of how women should look. Despite being continually bombarded by images of the beautiful people and products to help us look like they do, there are some people out there proudly taking leaps and bounds, reminding us of why we started this in the first place.
So it is with great excitement that I present to you the following interview with a Brisbane-based artist who’s taking it back to basics to help us remember the beauty of our natural bodies with her upcoming exhibition, A Celebration of the Female Form.
In painting her second nude, ‘Azure’, Vanessa discovered a new talent.
‘As [Azure] evolved on my canvas so did my unexpected talent for painting the female form. Something was untapped and a sense of incredible fulfillment rushed through me. A calling had been answered. I knew then that I was born to paint women. For the first time in my life I felt truly worthy of being called an artist”, she says.
As a feminist, Vanessa feels strongly that the varied opinions of other feminists invaluable.
‘I find some feminists to be radical, pushy and narrow minded in some instances and go too far in ridiculing other women who make their own life choices,’ she says.
‘The suffragettes of our past lead us down the pathways we needed to become the powerful creatures we are today. They gave us the rights to choose our own paths and created endless opportunities to move forward as women.’
However, the exhibition wasn’t created solely with feminist intentions.
‘It has more to do with celebrating the overall creation of beauty that all women create just by existing. We are strong powerful and resilient creatures that should be appreciated and celebrated’, she says.
The exhibition will run from July 1st — 7th at the Graydon Gallery in Brisbane, Queensland, and will feature over 100 interpretations of the female form from at least 20 local, interstate and international artists, ranging from fine art to street art and everything in between.
For more information about A Celebration of the Female Form, check out the event details here.
To find out more (or simply just to show a little feminist support) jump on her website, Vanessa Jane , visit her facebook page or shoot her an email at vanessajanearts[at]hotmail.com.
