NEW ROLE MODELS

New Role Models, detail, The Ancient Bath (CCA), Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 2015

Site-specific installation, (inkjet print on canvas 42”x62” and vinyl print on plexiglas 79″x118″), dimensions variable, 2015

“New Role Models” is a photo installation depicting a child and her babysitter. A closer examination of the work reveals the androgynous babysitter in a domestic setting, juxtaposed with another image of the same person as a fashion model. In fact her name is Rain Dove. She lives in NYC and works as both babysitter and a fashion model, mostly for male brands.

“New Role Models” challenges gender stereotypes associated with childcare and embraces a new mode of social tolerance. Shifting gender/roleplaying here is seen as a capital exploited by an individual to navigate the normative gender system. The project was commissioned for the exhibition Mature and Angry curated by Boris Kostadinov, and presented at the Center for Contemporary Art, The Ancient Bath, Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2015.