The Ambiguous Sitting - Grace Butler's Portfolio

Gender, a phenomenon so ingrained in our collective conscience that it is largely mistaken as something fixed, is a construct of idealisation which has been forcibly materialised through time. In the Nineteenth Century, gender ideology forced a strict binary division between the masculine and feminine and society discriminated against individuals who did not conform to conventional gender roles.

This project draws on the lives of Nineteenth Century hermaphrodite Herculine Barbin and dress reformer Amelia Bloomer. Grace uses nonbinary aesthetics, combined with hermaphroditic nature, to present the legacy of these individuals and the communities they represent, as both natural and beautiful, connotations these two people never derived in life. Flowers, which are mostly hermaphrodite, have forever been viewed as the epitome of natural beauty, a popular subject for Nineteenth Century still life. Delving into an unseen world through a microscopic lens, the hermaphroditic structure of the plants is made visible, establishing the similarities between the natural world and the human subjects.

The juxtaposition of nonconformist next to still life, raises the question of why one form of living hermaphrodite is hated whilst the other loved. This series focuses on the celebration of nonconformity, subverting traditional Nineteenth Century portraiture by challenging the rules of gender.

GRACE BUTLER