"At Least You Get a Free Boob Job"
This life-size plaster sculpture confronts a dismissive phrase often directed at mastectomy patients: “At least you get a free boob job.” The work presents a chest split into two contrasting halves: one smooth and untouched, symbolizing societal expectations of perfection and superficiality, and the other exposed, layered with color to represent skin, fat, muscle, scar tissue, and bone. Embedded watercolors and raw, frayed edges draw attention to the physical and emotional toll of mastectomy and reconstruction, rejecting the idea that these surgeries are merely cosmetic.
The exposed half is meticulously constructed, with each anatomical layer represented by embedded pigment within the plaster. Pale beige symbolizes skin, soft yellow evokes subcutaneous fat, deep reds and pinks represent muscle, gray highlights scar tissue, and stark white marks bone. These concentric layers, cut into elliptical cross-sections, invite viewers to explore the body’s internal structures and confront the physical trauma hidden beneath the surface. The frayed edges and uneven textures of the cut plaster emphasize the jagged, unresolved nature of physical and emotional recovery.
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The untouched smooth half of the sculpture serves as a foil, reflecting societal detachment and the superficial gaze often imposed on those who undergo mastectomies. Together, these halves present a dual narrative: one of external assumptions and ignorance, and another of internal reality and complexity. By blending anatomical precision with artistic abstraction, At Least You Get a Free Boob Job challenges viewers to reckon with the emotional and physical scars survivors endure, while critiquing the sometimes reductive ways in which mastectomy and reconstruction are framed in cultural discourse. The piece becomes both an educational tool and a call for empathy, demanding deeper understanding and respect for the lived realities of breast cancer survivors.