The Gates deals with issues that have been ongoing in my work – the role of women within patriarchy and the myth of the male artist/genius (previously addressed in The Art Lesson: Under the Influence of …, 1977-88).  Here the two are combined in a parody of Auguste Rodin’s monumental work the Gates of Hell.  Though my artistic background was thoroughly grounded in the study of the Great Masters and their techniques, I have rejected the use of precious materials for my sculpture and prefer the impermanent products of consumer society.  For The Gates, I have selected a contemporary caricature of the idealized female form, the Barbie doll, as the antithesis of Rodin’s heroic human form.  The many doll figures are placed in the two central panels upon a ground of plaster coated drapery, which resembles rumpled sheets and evokes the private realm of the bed.  I have removed the heads from the dolls to portray them as estranged from their bodies and as powerless objects of male fantasy.  The central panels are framed by two side panels painted to evoke an earthly paradise and a celestial one, off limits to women who like the ageless Barbie icon, remain objectified under the patriarchal system.

Mixed media. Overall dimensions 300 cm x 300 cm x 45 cm