Stephanie Rosenthal

I strive to deconstruct and unlearn the over-sexualization of the female body as I produce an array of felt breasts and mixed media breastplates for my boutique-like installation Body Armor. Similar to how one shops for bras or jewelry, a diverse collection of soft, fuzzy, strange breasts along with paper-dipped multimedia breastplates are elegantly displayed to pick and choose from. I humorously address themes of objectification, consumption, violation, censorship, and body positivity through the female gaze, which recognizes women not merely as objects of desire, but with desire and purpose. The breasts are made to be appreciated simply for their form, texture and color as opposed to the biased narrative derived from media which intends to shame them. The irony, though, is in the truth that neither the fake breasts nor breastplates provide true protection, rather the illusion of it — a false sense of security.