My Temple
This duo of pieces explores how society places a price on a woman's beauty. Price doesn’t always mean money. It is a form of value. Women nowadays feel pressure more than ever in how their beauty is peddled and performed.
For the collage, McClain wanted a female figure to dominate the frame, choosing to cover the figure’s genitalia with money. This decision alludes to the investments poured into sexualizing the female body and its beauty. McClain also intentionally covered the figure’s eyes to reflect failure on both women and others’ in recognizing female worth.
But we are now reaching an era in which women are taking control. They are becoming sexually freer and more autonomous over their beauty, and this complexity and often difficulty of this process is reflected in the second portrait.
Nygilia McClain is a graphic designer and digital artist. Born in Albany, New York, she grew up with a love for basketball until the arts came into the picture. As a result of finding a passion for both, she took her talents overseas, where she studied for her master’s degree and continued to advance her career. She now works remotely as a creative and is still progressing her craft during the strange times of COVID-19.