EMMA STERN
b. 1992, United StatesEmma Stern’s work deploys her formal background in traditional oil-on-canvas painting to achieve a kind of contemporary portraiture made possible by 3d software. Using tools intended for game developers to create virtual female models that serve as her subjects, her work emphasizes and exacerbates the apparent inclination towards pornographic (or at least porn-adjacent) representations of women in 3d communities and gaming culture. Persistent themes include subversion, perversion, fantasy, and a unique kind of off-brand feminism vaguely reminiscent of pop-up ads of the “You Won’t Last 5 Minutes in This Game” variety.
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