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Identities in Iron: My Reforging

Identities in Iron: My Reforging is an exploration of masculine identity. I use the history of ironwork to construct meaning by distilling abstracted forms of architectural ironwork, such as gates, grates and fences. These structures restrict and control the movement of bodies on a landscape and, in this country, inherit a legacy of colonial land possession. Erected on ground that has been dominated by a patriarchal culture, the structures effectively divide people based on their status and class. Wealthy men have built them to keep the poor out, but in doing this the wealthy trap themselves inside a cage of their own creation. I recapitulate these traditional architectural forgings into jewelry that I place on male bodies. Through this interaction I explore the violent behaviors and histories of male identity and the liminal states through which a male identity is accepted and compelled.
I also address my identity as a man in Chest. It is a toolbox that contains every tool I have handcrafted to make the other work in this series. The box represents my body, and the tools inside have a metaphorical relationship to the nonphysical tools of thought that have reforged my conception of maleness.

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[herre]