General 6 — Gwendolyn Spencer's Portfolio

Love and War ‘21

Two soldiers find solace during battle. The black triangles call back to markers used to identify and target gay men in the 1900’s, reclaiming the symbol in love’s solidarity.

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Themes that Drive My Art

Focusing on love

As a queer teen, I find myself examining love in more ways than one. Love exists in endless forms, actions, labels, and feelings. It exists between and beyond planes of existence, in rhythm with beating hearts. I attempt to tackle love by observing how it manifests in myself and my communities, specifically in queer ones.
Breaking and Bending Rules

I have always been curious about the ways that my peers and I both conform to and defy social norms, especially in the age of the internet where the “norm” is ever-changing. I aim to create art that questions social rules and regulations (specifically in regards to gender, gender roles, and sexuality) and explores futures without them.
Self Discovery

My creativity has always been my road to figuring out who I am. Art is a form of meditation for me and that results in much of my craft following my journey to personal self-knowledge. I capture moments of confusion and desperation to be seen, but also moments of victory and confidence through portraiture. These recreations of myself at various stages of my life lend themselves to a larger conversation on healing.

The First Breath ‘21

Take note of the colors, as they call homage to the bisexual flag. Here I rise from water, greeted by a butterfly who represents my growth and self-confidence. To capture the reference, we shot in a pool.

In Bloom ‘20, (pictured below) examines healing through both an anatomical and metaphorical lens. The petals signal towards the spiritual side of growth and how we become more whole versions of ourselves with each heartbreak, whereas the tendons of the heart stitching chambers back together suggest that healing is also a practical, learned, and physical process.

Mosaic of Mine and Mind ‘21 (pictured above) is a self portrait that considers my journey to finding my voice and values. Each individual square was painted one-by-one, using masking tape for borders. No one square uses the same colors as the one next to it, bringing conflict and tension into the painting, calling back to my own cluttered array of needs and wants. Yet, the piece still remains cohesive, intact, because all of my mismatching pieces, fill in my mosaic. You may also notice some empty squares. These represent the values I am still cultivating, and the corners of myself I have yet to explore.

Vanity ‘21

This piece is a meditation on conventional femininity and sexuality, and the ways that self-reflection can break those expectations. Another angle on this piece takes into account the patterns of violence that can and have occurred when people who were assigned male at birth present feminine.

Untitled '20

This self portrait was drawn during a time of deep hardship. I felt alone, unworthy, and empty. Words scrambled in the background are all real phrases people had said to me over my like, creating the tapestry for this image of true sadness.
Ode '21

After researching the styles and creations of various queer artists, I decided to create a piece using elements of creators such as Michael Angelo, Andy Warhol, and Harry Styles. In synthesizing elements of each artist’s work, I create a timeline of queer art, looking towards the future.
Numb '20

Drawn during the same time as Untitled, this study of my body reflects the physical manifestations of my anxieties. I would often feel cold as glass, or even numb during this time of my life. Each snapshot looks at a different part of my body I felt especially cognizant of in this time of my life.
Miss Daisy '21

Miss Daisy is a light-hearted creation. She is a just a pocket of sunshine and a piece of joy. Originally, she had blonde hair but (as purple hair normally comes about) life happens! Miss Daisy was also published in Woodside Priory’s Art Magazine 2021 Edition.
Growth '21

This stippled skeleton reaches to the sky as it is embraced by marigolds. Marigolds represent power, strength, and positivity, and their entanglement with the hand shows how a little bit of self love can revitalize the soul.
Girl on the Screen '20

This girl is everything who I wanted to be when I drew her. Another light-hearted creation, she is the “it-girl” who I looked up to. She was cool, calm, and collected, she was warm and sweet.