Patricia Underwood Mixed Media Artist

"Swim Suits"

In this body of work, Ms. Underwood takes models from the popular Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Editions as her subject matter, examining the inherent messages that their appearance in these publications helps deliver. The models are skillfully drawn life-size and then, like a paper doll, cut out and incorporated into a huge polaroid-like mixed media piece. The model then speaks back to the viewer via a statement that accompanies each piece, with thoughts on who she really is and why she is really there.

Issues that these pieces address include exploitation of physical beauty, youth and beauty’s mutual exclusivity, racism, post-colonial superiority and more. As a visual artist trained in advertising, Ms. Underwood deconstructs the strong symbolic messages created in the visual compositions of this popular publication. She then turns them around and sends them back to the viewer with powerful and thought-provoking insights.