One of the most exciting things about living in Beijing is that it’s a city that nurtures creativity and helps you bring your dreams to life.
That’s why an upcoming art exhibition recently caught my attention: 容貌焦虑 róng mào jiāo lǜ, which translates to Appearance Anxiety, at a space called Power Girl Style. All of it struck a chord with me. Created by US artist Rebecca Slivinsky, the exhibition was inspired by the pressures of self-image that women face on a regular basis, no matter their age or background. “Being a woman myself, and having many friends who are women and talking about our self-image and how we feel about our bodies and appearance and the pressures surrounding it, I knew this title would resonate with many people,” Slivinsky tells us.
To find out more, we asked Slivinsky to share her story:
While I was in graduate school, I felt lost. I had no idea what type of work to do and was beginning to think I was making a mistake in pursuing a degree in art.
A few months later, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was the first time I was living far from home and could not physically be there to support my mom. I decided one way I could go through this journey with her was to shave my head in solidarity. While this was something I did to support my mom, it opened my eyes to the way I have been perceived by others my whole life. I had been subconsciously using my long, curly hair as part of my identity and no longer had this security blanket to hide behind.
I received a few comments about my appearance, which was a shock to me. I remember one specific time when a man who was comparing my freshly shaved head to my license photo, told me unprompted that he liked my hair better when it was long. When my overwhelming shock dissipated, I really began wondering where do women’s beauty expectations come from?
This event led me to the body of work that I created in graduate school, and I am still building upon that here in Beijing.
In school, I was taking objectified and sexualized images of women and obliterating them with cleaning fluids, to allow the woman in the advertisement to reclaim the right to her body. Here in Beijing, I am still focusing on the idea of “beauty” and more specifically my experience as a woman and how women in general manage to navigate a world filled with unwanted opinions and unrealistic beauty expectations of them.
As for my career here as an art teacher in Beijing, I absolutely love my job. I hope to instill technical skills along with allowing my students to explore their own conceptual ideas. I really enjoy watching my students grow into young artists, especially the students who might not care so much about art when they first join my class and then find their own niche in creating art.
As an art teacher in Beijing, Slivinsky is one of many who help shape and inspire young minds. What’s more, her upcoming exhibition gave one of her students, a grade 9 girl and aspiring fashion designer, the opportunity to see what it’s like putting together a show. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for her to see how to set up a show and see first-hand what goes into putting on a solo show,” explains Slivinsky.
To be sure though, the show touches on a deeper and darker issue. According to Slivinsky, not only are images of women shown in glossy magazine pages and on TV, but we now also face the problem of social media.
We have social media in the US of course, but in China, I notice lots of women use filters like the ‘Beauty Cam’ to distort their faces into unrealistic proportions. I think because these images are put out into the world of women with photoshopped bodies, it could definitely have a negative impact on how young girls (and women of all ages) see themselves.
A few of my friends have told me stories about how their parents even tell them about how they are too fat and ugly. Some friends of mine, as adults, are still affected by this (plus the added pressure of social media) and now deal with these anxieties in ways that I would not consider healthy.
If grown women are so greatly impacted by comments made to them about their appearance, I can only imagine how young girls who are just learning who they are and where they fit in the world can also be affected by such pressure.
Slivinsky’s exhibition is a wake up call for those dishing out the comments on other people’s bodies and a refreshing realization for those being negatively affected by it.
After hearing comments from her friends about her body, Slivinsky sports one of her favorite shirts with the slogan, “I do not exist to conform to your idea of beauty. 我的存在不是为了迎合你对美的想法.” and lives by it. After all, our bodies are our own and each is beautiful and unique in its own right.
Appearance Anxiety will be on exhibition at Power Girl Style until Dec 2. It’s open from 10am-8pm and admission is free.
To find out more about the artist, visit www.rebeccaslivinsky.com or follow her on Instagram @rebeccaslivinsky.
Power Girl Style
北京市朝阳区东坝镇半截塔路53号
朗园station A14-5-3 Power Girl Style
