Artist Statement
Allison Tunis' embroidery and mixed media pieces focus on our obsession with body image, traditional Western social aesthetics, gender norms, ingrained biases, and the shame that is put upon us both by others and our own minds. These works develop a discourse around cultural conditioning and societal implications of restrictive standards of beauty, as well as the discrimination and violence experienced by people living in marginalized bodies, with a particular focus on fat bodies. Tunis’ works feature portraits of persons who shun outdated and constricting notions of what are considered “acceptable” bodies in our world and who celebrate their differences and diversity in ways that can be considered disobedient, either actively or passively. These art pieces are a way for Tunis to explore her own internal evolution away from the traditional paradigm of thin, white, cis, able-bodied women as the epitome of beauty and sexuality, and to deconstruct the societal behaviours and thought processes that have become part of everyday life for her and many others who live in fat bodies.
The techniques of cross-stitch and embroidery emphasize the obsessive quality of the work, and also reinforce the concept of cultural stereotypes of femininity. As well, concepts of "women's work" and femininity are evoked through the history of embroidery and textile work, further stereotypes of what a woman is traditionally expected to be by society, where fatness is often seen as a failure to be feminine. Tunis’ gel transfer and acrylic pieces work to layer imagery of bodies with language and metaphor to create visual dialogues about the need for body diversity and a retraining of our brains to dismantle weight stigma and stereotypes about fatness.
Currently, with their permission, Tunis uses photographs of other activists and personalities that are working in the body positivity, feminist, and fat activism movements, as well as community members that are not in the spotlight and her own self-portraits. Ideally, Tunis seeks to source photographs from lesser known individuals to capture the “everyday” people that are living in bodies that society wants us to hate - those who face discrimination, body image issues, and negative stereotypes daily and resist and thrive, but who go unnoticed. The artist does this by soliciting photographs on a large scale via social media, personal contacts, and calls for submissions, as well as personally photographing others and her own body.
This work is influenced by concepts of feminism - in particular, the questioning of the notion that a person's physical attractiveness should be their number one priority at all times, the impact of this obsession with beauty and its intersections with other marginalized experiences. Fat Activism, intersectionality, and the rejection of traditional standards of beauty, or even of physical appearance as a measurement of self-worth are integral to the understanding of these pieces and to creating social change.
The techniques of cross-stitch and embroidery emphasize the obsessive quality of the work, and also reinforce the concept of cultural stereotypes of femininity. As well, concepts of "women's work" and femininity are evoked through the history of embroidery and textile work, further stereotypes of what a woman is traditionally expected to be by society, where fatness is often seen as a failure to be feminine. Tunis’ gel transfer and acrylic pieces work to layer imagery of bodies with language and metaphor to create visual dialogues about the need for body diversity and a retraining of our brains to dismantle weight stigma and stereotypes about fatness.
Currently, with their permission, Tunis uses photographs of other activists and personalities that are working in the body positivity, feminist, and fat activism movements, as well as community members that are not in the spotlight and her own self-portraits. Ideally, Tunis seeks to source photographs from lesser known individuals to capture the “everyday” people that are living in bodies that society wants us to hate - those who face discrimination, body image issues, and negative stereotypes daily and resist and thrive, but who go unnoticed. The artist does this by soliciting photographs on a large scale via social media, personal contacts, and calls for submissions, as well as personally photographing others and her own body.
This work is influenced by concepts of feminism - in particular, the questioning of the notion that a person's physical attractiveness should be their number one priority at all times, the impact of this obsession with beauty and its intersections with other marginalized experiences. Fat Activism, intersectionality, and the rejection of traditional standards of beauty, or even of physical appearance as a measurement of self-worth are integral to the understanding of these pieces and to creating social change.