Tipsy Art

Frustration at Stereotypes?, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Awful, Chaz Howkins, 2015, paint

Frustration, Chaz Howkins, 2015,  mixed media

Binaries, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I created these pieces the morning after a night out and think the results are very unsuccessful, but interesting and humorous nonetheless.  Inspired by Heather Cassils, I painted my knuckles pink and proceeded to punch a lump of clay onto a sheet of paper to express my frustration concerning gender stereotypes.  For the next piece, I filled one hand with blue paint and one with pink paint and proceeded to smear them on paper - the colours didn't overlap as easily as I intended so the piece seems to support the idea of gender as binary, which I do not agree with.

I took a photo of my hands afterwards as I found it interesting how barely any pink was on the blue hand, whereas the pink hand had become much darker and bluer - mirroring how it is seen as acceptable within society for women to express masculine traits, however men are viewed negatively for expressing feminine traits.

Gender Bending Mirror

Gender Bending Mirror (Kammy), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Gender Bending Mirror (self), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I think this was my most successful mirror piece as it allows a non-male viewer to view themselves as more masculine, making the piece interactive and expressing a sense of gender dysphoria in longing to see oneself differently.

Stereotypes and Dysphoria

Stereotypes and Dysphoria, Chaz Howkins, 2015, mirror and paint

I further explored the potential of using mirrors to express gender dysphoria with this (rather unsuccessful) piece by distorting the reflection with paint.  I used blue paint to contrast the surrounding pink frame, highlighting the contrast of the gender binaries and expressing how someone may be surrounded by pink but see themselves in blue.

Mirror of Gender Dysphoria

Mirror of Gender Dysphoria, Chaz Howkins, 2015, mirror

Mirror of Gender Dysphoria close up

I wanted to express a sense of gender dysphoria somehow using a mirror, so decided to smash one and glue it back together disjointedly to mimic how someone with gender dysphoria will look at themselves in the mirror and struggle to recognise themselves.

Gender stereotypes in advertising

Boys Toys, Chaz Howkins, 2015, collage

Girls Toys, Chaz Howkins, 2015, collage

Following my larger collages, I decided to collage the gendered products over male and female faces, which I feel was not as successful but does create an interesting contrast between the two portraits.

Gender stereotypes in advertising

Girl/Boy, Chaz Howkins, collage, 2015

These collages are made up of gendered advertisements for children's toys in an Argos catalogue.  I wanted to highlight the extent to which products are unnecessarily gendered, especially when aimed at children.

Gender dysphoria

Dreamer, Chaz Howkins, photograph and pencil, 2015

This image portrays Barbie's sense of gender dysphoria as she longs for more muscular 'masculine' arms.  I think it puts a humorous spin on a somewhat serious issue, making it quite light hearted.

Transition series

Transition 1/7 (Disconnection), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 2/7 (Dysmorphia), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 3/7 (Haircut), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 4/7 (Testosterone), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 5/7 (Bulking Up), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transition 6/7 (Post-Op), Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph 

Transition 7/7 (Top Surgery),  Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I created this photographic series to document the transition of Barbie from female to male, starting with his sense of dysphoria in his female body and finishing with having had top surgery and being in a fully male body.  I felt it was important to document the process of the transition to shut down the idea that transgender people wake up one day and decide to have a sex change and highlight that transitioning is a long and complicated process.

Larger doll head

Half & Half, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated doll bust

I wanted to create a piece similar to my before and after transition photo comparison without using photography, so created a male vs female doll using a larger doll bust.  I think the piece is fairly successful in its subtlety, though I could have done more to manipulate the body on the male side.

Gender Dysphoria

Longing, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photo manipulation

This photo is a simplistic portrayal of gender dysphoria as the doll stares at himself in the mirror, not recognising himself in the body he was born into.

Body Crossing

Arms, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

I wanted to experiment further with the crossing of Barbie and Ken's bodies.  The open shoulder socket and differing skin tones make the arms look rather unnatural, but I think there is potential in the idea of Barbie longing for more muscular arms so may take this idea further.

Body Crossing

Body Crossing, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

For this image I balanced a Barbie head on top of Ken's body, creating an interesting juxtaposition of Barbie's dainty features against Ken's muscular body.  Perhaps the body should have be topless to exaggerate this effect.

Before and After

Comparison, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photo collage

The image contrasts before and after shots of the transgender doll to expose how dramatically the doll has changed.

Transgender Barbie

Transdoll, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photograph

Transgender Barbie

Binding Barbie, Chaz Howkins, photograph, 2015

I decided that I wanted to change the focus of my work from 'corruption of childhood innocence' to gender identity.  While using Barbies as my subject matter for the majority of last year's work, I never got around to creating the gender queer Barbie I planned to.  I thought creating a transgender Barbie would be a good way to link the two themes together and give me a starting point for exploring gender identity.

Photograms

Sexual Motions, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

I tried to create a sense of motion by moving the dolls around between exposures to create different levels of light and shadow, I feel this was quite successful but could be taken further by moving the dolls more dramatically.

Clusterfuck, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

I then used this idea of motion to create a more abstract image by moving doll parts around so their shadows overlap.

Photograms

The Dress, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

Zombiegram, Chaz Howkins, 2015, photogram

I cancelled my photography workshop and instead had an induction to the darkroom so that I could create a series of photograms.  I felt that the use of black and white in extreme contrast would emphasise the sinister feel of the dark subject matter.  I think these two images in particular are quite striking due to their simplistic nature and composition.

Death Of Childhood Continued

Childhood Torn Apart, Chaz Howkins, 2015, assemblage on board

I went on from creating the silhouette paintings on collaged backgrounds by taking this idea further and painting on material collaged on board.  I planned to leave the piece at the painted stage but felt it was rather uninteresting, so I decided to collage further by adding doll limbs, clothing and chunks of doll hair.  This turned the piece into more of an assemblage piece as it was now three dimensional.  The scattered limbs and hair give the piece a broken, disconnected feel, as if to represent a childhood which has been torn apart.

Manipulated Barbie Dolls For Sale

Red Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015,
 spray painted Barbie in doll's packaging

Black Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015,
 spray painted Barbie in doll's packaging

Zombie Barbie For Sale, Chaz Howkins, 2015, manipulated Barbie in doll's packaging

I decided to place some of my modified Barbies inside a doll's original packaging to make it seem as if they are being sold to children in this state.  They are all quite sinister and inappropriate for children making them stand out in the packaging.  The zombie dolls could realistically be sold as toys for older children, however the doll juxtaposes the labels of the packaging which brands it a 'fashion doll' in its tattered clothing.

Screen Printing Workshop

Screen Print Series, Chaz Howkins, 2015, screen prints

Minimal Zombie, Chaz Howkins, 2015, screen print

I found the screen printing process to be quite time consuming and frustrating at times, though I feel my outcomes were quite successful.  The image I used of a zombie Barbie works well as the ink adds a dark, gritty feel to it, which when juxtaposed against bright backgrounds creates quite a bold image.