Katie Morton’s latest show, It’s All Me, isn’t just about her – it’s about you, too.
“I tend to be sometimes very narcissistic, and a lot of my pieces end up having a part of myself. But I also want people to identify with them and figure out how they relate to these works themselves,” says Morton.
Her work features women in forms that contrast sharply with how they are portrayed in media. On her website, Morton explains that “By painting fearless, grotesque women who challenge the audience with their stare, she takes the power away from the voyeur and puts it into the hands of the subject.”
She doesn’t generally make outright political statements with her work, but “I think that talking about femininity is a political action in and of itself because there are lots of people who in politics want to contain the female body, and what it means to be a woman with reproductive rights. And it talks about some of the tougher things, there’s anger shown and frustration.”
One piece in this show does veer in the political realm, however. Blood Coming From Her You Know Where, acrylic and oil stick on carpet, is a reference to a quote from U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Morton says her work can appeal to anyone. “I do work about the female experience and that doesn’t have to necessarily be exclusively for women.” In her hands, a simple task can become an epic adventure. Errands, for example, depicts a warrior hoisting a bloodied sword while out walking the dog.
For this show, Morton says she wanted to move beyond the traditional square canvas format. All but one of the works are painted on large-scale, free-hanging wood canvases. “I wanted to get outside the norm but still have them able to function in the home as pieces.”
It’s All Me runs Thursdays to Sundays from 11am-6pm until October 23.
Follow Katie on Instagram @broke_art_student
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- This giant sign greets visitors to The Other Side Studio
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- Errands, acrylic and oil stick, by Katie Morton
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Thank you, to Katie, for creating this show, and to Dawn, for making us aware of it. There are so many media these days to empower women, and to fight misogyny. I firmly believe that any woman, who has the ability to effect change for women’s rights, should do so to any extent she can. While The Donald’s comments were damned in the majority, there was still an intransigent minority cheering him on. And it was not only knuckle-draggers. Some men feel “entitled”; pure and simple.
Keep fighting the good fight: You are on the side of right.