catherine fenton bernath

My work explores representations of gender through self-portraiture, connecting subjectivity to the psychology (or pathology) linked to the multiple personae of the female experience. The complex struggle of identity with subjects deemed taboo - from imposed societal norms to the physical deterioration produced by aging - has become my main source material. I often employ visual puns and found everyday objects in my photography and video-based practice to produce assemblage installations with the intent of displacing systems of normativity by way of the irrational and the absurd. I manipulate and deconstruct photographic images through shooting and editing techniques and painting, scratching and photomontage, with the aim of conjuring and supporting non-linear storytelling. Soft sculpture, sewn applique and collage operate as fresh means of expression in and around female subjectivity.