Israeli artist Romy Yedidia uses the body as a transformational tool to establish critical narratives of body-politics through performance. Based in Amsterdam, her recent Cornice project investigates the hidden connections between the titular architectural element and the ‘ideal’ female form; both of which are subjected to similar processes, and arguably, a product of their own particular beauty standards. To create Cornice, Romy employed the traditional technique using a running-mould in order to create the image of her body in profile, making sure to use a pose that conformed to Western beauty standards: gracefully stretched with her arms held aloft like a caryatid, to appear thin and static. Romy created perspectives of several angles of her body: crops of her legs, breasts, buttocks, as well as the profile of her entire body. The cornice moulding process consists of repetitive and contrasting actions: first, a layer of plaster is smeared on, next the mould’s metal profile is repeatedly shaved until its form appears seamless. This physically demanding process of opposing actions––smearing and shaving––resonates with the contradicting expectations that define the female existence. Through the strenuous action of moulding these ancient materials into the shape of her own body, Romy draws attention to the rigidity of deeply entrenched narratives of patriarchal society. For Metamorphoses, Romy presents one such plaster cornice: ‘Breast – Belly’. The piece has recently been exhibited at Prospect at Art Rotterdam and Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam.
