Eso no es de señoritas (It’s Not Ladylike)
Utilizing screenshots of videos taken while masturbating, Goretty Dejesus paints self-portraits highlighting the intense faces and body movements she’s made while in ecstasy. Dejesus presents this work wishing to encourage other women and femmes to take pride and pleasure in their body, and to challenge the history of the male gaze.
The title of the series, Eso no es de señoritas, is a phrase the artist’s mother used when she was growing up and behaved as a tomboy. When she was a child one of her favorite games was playing WWE fights, jumping from the top roof of her house, and skateboarding, and as a result breaking several bones in her body. Instead her mother wanted her to be girly and play with dolls which wasn’t the artist’s best choice.
In this series, all the shots are taken from a top view, revealing the artist’s bedroom while she is lying on the bed. Depicting the pillow and personal objects such as books, nail polishes, and coffee cup, Dejesus allows the viewer to have a simultaneous glimpse of both her body and her personal space.
The color palette she uses for these intimate portraits references the traditional houses of the Dominican Republic, the artist’s native country. Serving as a reminder of where she came from, the colors give another layer of insight into the artist’s life, while also imbuing a tropically colorful essence to these works.
Through her technique and color shadows, Dejesus highlights the dramatic facial and body expressions found in her self-portraits. Using the historically traditional materials of oil on canvas, she symbolizes the mentality of old fashioned society as it lives now in the innovative new feminist era.
1. Goretty Dejesus, Solo Yo , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 24 x 24
2. Goretty Dejesus, Extasis , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 24 x 30
3. Goretty Dejesus, El Verde Calmado , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 20 x 20
4. Goretty Dejesus, Gemelas de Alma , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 24 x 36
5. Goretty Dejesus, Abstract feelings , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 16 x 16
6. Goretty Dejesus, Straight Forward , 2020, (Oil on canvas), 24 x 36
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”11″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]
