Tabbitha Manuel: capstone

Abstract

The artist's statement: Tabbitha Manuel is a senior art student with a concentration in drawing. Her work delves into the intersection of femininity, religion, sexuality, and human suffering. Growing up in a deeply religious household and attending Catholic school for seven years, Tabbitha often felt like an outsider due to her identity as a queer woman. Through her art, she embraces the parts of herself she was told to hide. Her recent pieces tackle challenging topics such as religious guilt, body image, and the fluidity of identity. Tabbitha's practice spans multiple media, including drawing, painting, and sculpture, all unified by using cool-toned color palettes and materials like recycled objects and scrap fabrics. Another side of Tabbitha's artwork lies in her career goals of tattooing, exploring traditional tattoo styles through acrylic ink paintings. Her skill lies in merging delicate, feminine imagery with raw, provocative themes to highlight the intersectionality of these issues and how they manifest in people's lives.