Made in the Shade
Through a mise-en-scene self-portraiture series, Made in the Shade depicts characters in Mid Century Modern settings, mirroring an era that was aspiring for change. Despite this societal urge to create a new modern lifestyle, women rapidly lost their independence gained during the war period and returned to domesticated environments to fulfill decades of gender role traditions.
The carefully staged scenes attempt to challenge female stereotypes. The series offers a powerful lens through which the viewer contemplates these women in a non-objectified way and reconfigures their essence. The absence of context gives these characters the power to be architects, scientists, musicians, engineers, doctors, etc.; roles often identified as being fulfilled by men.
Through a female gaze, the work questions how society shapes human beliefs and ideologies, and overall, reinforces the importance to continue the action for gender equality in an era informed by #MeToo and #Time’s up movements.
Chloé Meynier is a San Francisco based artist. Born and raised in France, she received her Bachelor in Science degree from Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (France), her Master’s degree and PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Université de Poitiers (France) and her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
Chloe’s practice focuses primarily on gender identity and women’s roles. Drawn from personal experience and through her own female gaze, the highly narrative photographs challenge female stereotypes, gender equality and societal norms.
Her work has won multiple awards, has been exhibited nationally and internationally and her photographs are in the permanent collection of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
