Ruth Chase

Ruth Chase

Ruth Chase

I struggle with the notion of what a woman is. My work explores what it means to be a woman and the struggle to understand all that entails including motherhood. I create large intimate paintings inspired by images and content that women have submitted and from selfies that my daughter has taken. I also create public art installations and video from public engagement projects. Motherhood opened a world within me that is both painful and empowering. Causing me to reevaluate the roles I have resisted and submitted to, and how I see myself as a woman. Using my daughters’ selfies, I am able to capture the complexity of the mother/daughter relationship. Experiencing my daughter’s adolescence has awoken memories, causing a deep reflection on how our childhood shapes us as women, and the role vulnerability plays in our development. Working with content that people have submitted allows me to step back and see a broader view of the female experience. I use social media as a communal aspect of my process that takes me out of the isolation of my studio and expands my understanding of women outside of my own experiences.