Sarah Maple is a UK photographer and artist who largely focuses her work on the feminist movement. Sarah's work is mostly satiric in an attempt to portray how ridiculous the world is for still having gender equality and stereotypes. When her work does not solely focus on feminism, she explores what it is like to be a young muslim woman in the UK. In this, she uses her aesthetic to urge viewers to go against the traditional norms of their religion and live how they wish.
I have decided to study Sarah Maple, looking more into her feminist work but not being bound to this as I think she portrays a very clear and truthful message in her work. The use of this abruptness and level of shockingness in her images works very well in creating a strong, running theme within any of her projects. This is an aspect I would like to work with and attempt as I believe that this can make a series quite unique and it would enable me to be extreme with my images. This is because creating such an impact would require an extreme image - there are examples of how Sarah has done this below.
In summary, I believe that Sarah Maple has created some very unique image series' as she is very upfront, outspoken and satirical, which has lead to her creating pieces of work with a very impactful and inspiring message. The way that Sarah not only focusses on feminism but also religion can separate her work from other feminist photographers as she shows how women can experience different forms of oppression based on religion.
This image features a woman dressed as Belle from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast acting as a football coach. This challenges the stereotypical princess role that Belle plays in the film and places her in a position of power and in a role that would typically be portrayed as a man. This could connote how women can do a job just as well as a man can. It could also connote how the Disney Princesses are not good role models for young girls and so should be portrayed in a way that would challenge gender stereotypes. Doing this would possibly inspire young girls to strive to be jobs that would typically go to a man and therefore be unachievable to them.
This image uses text to portray a clear and simple message - Sarah does not agree that anyone should not be a feminist. The use of a bright pink background, pink nails and the fact that she is wearing no clothes contradicts her statement and could connote that the feminist movement has not come far enough in their work and that women are still objectified and forced to follow stereotypes that they do not agree with, for example, wearing or even liking the colour pink. In other images of Sarah's, we see that she does not typically conform to female stereotypes and so has been very strategic in her use of the colour pink.
Again, the use of text in this image portrays a very strong message - stitched into her cloak is 'Anti Rape Cloak'. This image has strong themes of feminism but also supports victims of rape and fights back to those who say that rape is down to 'what the victim was wearing'. The Anti Rape Cloak is simply a black sheet being used to cover her entire body so that only her head and feet are showing. This connotes how women are forced to cover up in order to be safe and that they will only be safe if they are completely covered from head to toe.
This image is an example of Sarah's religious work. On the left, it shows a stereotypical muslim woman wearing a hijab pointing at the camera. To the right, it shows the same woman but dressed down in casual clothing with wild hair, pointing to herself. This could connote how women within particular cultures are expected to dress and act a certain way, and how if they don't they still feel pressured to follow these norms. It could also imply that people are expected to be the ideal picture of their religion and not follow it the way that they wish - it can sometimes take away their identity.
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