Eggs Reflections
During the start of the course, a prior to the MA, I was largely painting with the media of watercolour and oil.
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I found oil problematic due to the environment impact it had. They are difficult to clean up, using rags socked in thinners can also cause fires when in bins when they heat up and chemical reactions occur. The thinners used are also highly toxic and give me headaches. Safety disposing of the waste created by oil paint is also extremely difficult. Although I've has these feelings regarding oils for a long time, I had never found anything that emulated or worked in a similar way. Until I discovered egg tempera. This has the same fluid feeling of watercolour but allows me to build up in layers like oil. The only downside to egg tempera is the drying time, it is similar to acrylic in the speed it drys. Which was one of the things I used to love about oils, the slow drying time and the vibrant colours.
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However, egg tempera has an elegant luminosity of colour, which I've never been able to emulate with oil.
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Therefore the move to egg Tempera feels like it comes from an ethical move alongside a love of the quality of media. Although as with many ethical choices, you move from one thing to another and it opens up a new range of ethical considerations.
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It was brought to my attention recently that I am a bad feminist, if I am using the eggs of another animal, without their consent.
This option surprised me and I was rather taken aback by it. As I had considered the use of the egg as a link and connecting to other feminist artist's before me like Sarah Lucas and Marilyn Minter. Who use eggs physically in their work, and depiction of the female form, but also as a metaphor to symbolise and link to women's reproductive rights and female beauty standards.
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On reflection, I moved to egg tempera because it felt like the middle point between oil and watercolour,. Giving me that beautiful watery transparent quality, that I can layer up, without the toxic harmful nature of oil and white spirt.
Therefore like Roxan Gay, I am a bad feminist.
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“I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”
― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist
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Within my practice I explore ethics and the voice of women, but as a messy human my work can't be completely non exploitative and I need to acknowledge the ethics of using eggs.
