F.

Ai He

Heai0223@hotmail.com  

The poem “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.” by the American poet Gertrude Stein describes the meaning humans have created for the rose, far beyond the rose itself. It is more like a symbolic meaning, as the rose has been given a social significance that has replaced its existence as an individual.

Like the flower, the female stereotype has been artificially assigned in a social sense. When sexual characteristics are concealed, the true Self remains. The Self is a situation that emerges independent of our sex and gender.

The woman is seen as a rose hidden behind a label in this work. At the same time, the flower is used to conceal the body parts with sexual characteristics. The name “F.” is derived from Flower and Female’s initials, representing the inseparable link between the two. The combination of the two is intended to call upon femininity’s natural connotations and counter the labelled, symbolic world. In the interweaving of the human body and nature, the social definition and labels of femininity are left behind, leading to a return to humanity’s natural attributes.