This artwork was created for International Women's Day 2019, Revolt She Said: A Cabaret hosted by the Feminisms and Subjectivities Research Group at Chelsea College of Art.
This work came from thinking about female sexuality and self-love. Using the iconic, magical, and symbolic power of the unicorn, I took control of ‘my horn blowing.' It is and was, in fact, a way of poking fun at the fear of masturbation but also claiming women’s right to pleasure through the acts of their own desires.
The performance was ambiguous, awkward, and intense for me and the audience. I dressed elegantly and extravagantly while making the mating sounds of a feral animal and blowing up my libido as well as letting it go flaccid. This is a personal and political act as a survivor of sexual assault. Well into my adult years, I carried blame and powerlessness around my sexuality as a woman. I grew up in a generation where sexism was the norm. I embodied these normalities in unhealthy ways; depression, anger, and self-hate. To be a female sexual being meant to be promiscuous, as a girl, as a woman, I would risk public shaming and slander if I acted on my desires. Fear is a dominant element around understanding the female sex; the normal processes of the body are still taboo, humiliating, and keep us from being equal or even human through the patriarchal gaze.
Lorna Milburn's photographs at Lorna Milburn Photography document and re-enact the power of my sexual energy as a woman; independent, sexy, in control, and fierce. This act is to expose. This artwork is to be with and confront negativity, sexual manipulation and to encourage body positivity.
I Like to Blow My Own Horn: Mouth to Junk Resuscitation, March 6, 2021, Photo by Lorna Milburn
I Like to Blow My Own Horn: Mouth to Junk Resuscitation, March 6, 2021, Photo by Lorna Milburn
I Like to Blow My Own Horn: Mouth to Junk Resuscitation, March 6, 2021, Photo by Lorna Milburn