Self reflections is the first series where Jennifer really began to study the traditional gaze in painting and the concept of a female gaze. Jennifer questions -who is in control of the image? When looking at the female nude in art, we often reflect on the age-old male gaze and look at the female nude from the sexualised perception of the male. However, how regularly do we question the artist? Are we able to differentiate the female nudes seen through a male artist’s eye, in comparison to a female’s and what kind of power does this reclaiming give to a female artist.
With regard to meaning, the images of the women in Jennifers paintings are rejecting the consumption of the gaze on their naked bodies. They are not ashamed but silently protesting the explotation of the female body in contemporary society and media. They are covering their bodies, seducatively exposing a breast, covering their faces, turning away from the gaze or defiantly challenging you to look at them. In no way are these women presented in a way that seeks approval. However they challenge the viewer to interact and respond to how women are individually reclaiming the representation of their own bodies.
