Sarah May Taylor - Sarah May Taylor

Death and Vanity, 2019. Dancer pole, metal pipe, magazines, petrified wood and crystal, plaster, nylon stockings, digital photo on mylar.

Death and Vanity is part of a series of altars that examine how the body takes up and moves through space. The metal archway investigates elements of the sacred in relation to charged, sexualied ‘female’ objects. The structure provides a cradling for the objects which hold both symbolic and personal significance and ask questions about strength, fragility, tension and control within the performance of femininity and being human.

Altared Space, 2018. LED light, chicken wire, acrylic paint, hydrocal.

Hanging Fruits, 2018. Hydrocal, acrylic paint, nylon stockings. Installed at Ossington Tire for Manifesto Art Show.

A response to Frank Ocean’s epic Pyramids, The Last Queen. 2019. Digital print, LED neon cross, hydrocal, sand. Installed at MOCA Toronto for MOCA x Purple Nights.

I hear not only the narratives he weaves together but those which remain unspoken; the journey into the underworld of women who must descend into the depths of themselves exploring archetypes of great pain and internalized misogyny which ultimately seek a release in the hopes of healing, joy, self-expression and pleasure. What would it mean to honestly look at representations of female sexuality that not only reflected authentic experiences but also mirrored the fears and desires that we have been taught to regard as forbidden? How has patriarchy shaped the ways in which you participate in misogyny?

What have you done with your pleasure?

Dislocated, 2018. Hydrocal, acrylic paint, nylon stockings.