Madrigal, Stephanie (Week 6: Xandra Ibarra)

     Xandra Ibarra's work is very unique and captivating, she addresses topics that typically go unspoken of due to society labeling individuals and their work as deviant, for example, sex workers.  A work that quickly caught my eye was, Thank you, It's Versayce (2018), she was able to put together common items used by sex workers to make a statement on the expression of sex and sexuality. I like how she includes the list of the items she uses in her work, it makes the reader do a double-take and look closely at the different pieces. In photographing these items, she is essentially photographing a stripper without having to include their bodies that are sexualized by society. There is a vast stigma on sex work, I think Xandra Ibarra allows viewers to see this work through another lens, it is like we are backstage looking at everything these workers need to be able to provide for themselves. Like Ibarra's work, the stripper's work is a form of art as well, they are dancing and putting on a performance, the only issue is that this art is highly stigmatized. When I first saw image 1, I was very confused and thought to myself what exactly is this, so I went back to read the description and I was able to appreciate the placement of the variety of items as well as the use of the light to create those shadows almost as if we were in a club where the spotlight would be on the stripper only know the focus is on the objects. I also enjoyed seeing the close-up of the pleaser heels in image 2 because it shows the variety and how these workers put in the time to plan out these intricate outfits, they truly are artists. A question I have in regards to this specific work is how did she gain access to these different items? What made her choose to use the fluorescent rube light? A general question I have for Xandra Ibarra is, have you had any backlash on your art? If so, how do you deal with it and not let it impact your motivation to produce more work and continue to challenge highly stigmatized lines of work like sex work?     

 

   Image 1 

                                                     Image 2