2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageSoft Bodies: The Malleable Self
Katheryne Flake
Friday, March 20 - 3:30PM to 4:00PM
Atlanta 1
In my interdisciplinary practice, I use photography, collage, and quilting to create soft sculptures that explore themes of queerness and the body. As a gender-nonconforming person, I experience a tension between my external appearance and my internal sense of self. To alleviate this tension and gain a measure of control, I photograph myself, focusing on details such as skin, pores, and body hair. I capture moments of contact, such as fingers pressing into flesh, and then expose these images onto malleable materials, like fabric, which can change shape without losing their integrity. Finally, I cut the exposed photographs into pieces and reassemble them into quilts or collages.
Through the processes of fragmentation and reconstruction, I relieve the discomfort I feel when viewing complete, unaltered images of myself. I find comfort and stability through my engagement with process and materials. The constructed forms become similacra—new bodies that more accurately reflect my current state of being, exemplifying queer transformation. For me, photographs and self-portraits are essential tools for self-exploration, navigating the space between documentation and dreams. Unaltered, the photographs convey a single interpretation of reality; however, through manipulation, I can challenge conventional gender norms and reshape the world to suit my needs.
Through this work, I investigate the boundaries of my own body and pose the question: Which is more accurate—the unfragmented photograph or these newly constructed forms?
speaker
Katheryne Flake
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