Moe Thelawn
who is she?
Moe TheLawn is an alter ego I embodied for around a year, I developed her as a form of rebellion and a way to escape. She demonstrated all the of societies expectations by creating an intensified persona that edged on vulgar.
Moe's characteristics were born from a version of womanhood that I had been fed from a young age: woman should wear makeup to hide all flaws, you should have big lips and big doll eyes, colour your hair to match the latest trends and be sexy but don't show too much skin. If that's what the male gaze decided was the prefect women, then I was going to become her.
But, surprise! I began to repulse men rather than attract them. The mask I had created became a place of safety as men stopped undressing me with their eyes. I went too far, past the point of desirability into the zone of vulgarity. Catcalls I received as Phoebe stopped as I transitioned into Moe.
These images commemorate the birth of Moe TheLawn
The Transformation Process
The process of transition from Phoebe into Moe was ritualistic and meditative. Feeling my energy and confidence rise as I applied my safety blanket
Moe's Adventures
Mowing The Lawn
Popping to the Supermarket with ChrisSofa
Car Journeys
Facilitating Workshops
I hosted a workshop to open conversations with children about self-expression and to aid development towards early understanding of people who choose to present outside of social-norms. Since, children have not yet been completely indoctrinated by cultural expectations I wanted to learn how this would inform their to response to my persona. As well as, exploring with the children what their unbounded imagination would create in a world where you could look like anything you want.
The E(moe)ji
Videography
Stills from video
Collage
Shifting Forms
Moe TheLawn's identity is fluid, some days she looks different from the staple 'vision in red'. This is because her intention with myself, Phoebe, was to build an untouchable layer of safety in an attempt to fend off the male gaze. However, this persona grew less outrageous as my journey with this feeling of safety developed. As I began adopting Moe's confidence in my everyday life my need for this persona diminished, Moe TheLawn will always be a part of me and maybe one day she will make a come back.
Phoebe Fern Designs
