Dorthea

Leslie Sheryll, grew up in Riverdale New York and now lives in Jersey City. She received her BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. Her work explores female identity in a phallocentric society. In her photo based work she appropriates and manipulates 19th century tintypes which she scans and transforms into a digital collage based on history, imagery, personal experience and an infusion of fantasy. Sheryll names each woman thus empowering them with their own identity as at that time a woman’s identity was that of her husband’s. She explores restrictions put upon women so that they fit into societal norms. Sheryll’s other work include a series of paper mache sculptures called Body Armors. These armors function as a way to protect, empower, entice and repel. She also incorporates cross stitch, a traditional practice taught to young girls whose proficiency made them attractive candidates for marriage. The 19th century, a fascinating era, brought the industrial revolution, scientific invention, Darwinism and the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement. The women in these images fought for women’s rights, they have stories to tell. In 2018 women’s rights are being stripped away. We need to know their stories as they are our history.