Gaia

Chelsea van der Bend makes intimate drawings on soft textile, like felt or flannel, in which the focus is often on the female nude.

“My starting point is the visual translation of my perspective on my own identity and sexuality. I am voicing my admiration for women in the most direct way I can think of, and make every choice in my process based on that love. This unconditional appreciation of the female form and its autonomy is inherently feminist, which is consistent with my activistic views that are inevitably showing through in my work. The bodies, the people in my work, are a vessel for the expression of a different way of existing, of loving. For the loving of your own body, but also the love for being queer.

I strive to achieve a soft protesting voice against the loud, fetishizing image that currently exists on being a lesbian”.