Page 9 - GIRLS' LOCKER ROOM

Eight months ago, Girls’ Locker Room was born. She was a flimsy name without much theory or depth, but she was an idea. I was working in Washington D.C. the year Hillary Clinton was running for president: the first woman ever to be a major nominee. What this meant for women!
I was working in an office for the very first time, so I found solace in my art more than ever. I was using more vibrant colors than I ever had, reverting against the greys and monotones of my first cubicle. I dressed in brilliant blues, reds, and oranges, in almost neon hues. I was dressing in business casual daily, while daydreaming of new extravagant outfits I could put together. I turned to the 90s, arguably the most androgynous time for women, and to teen idols like the Spice Girls for inspiration.
I had so many ideas for looks, accessories, new combinations, and was quickly overwhelmed by how many ideas I had that I had to get them on paper. I got hundreds of clippings from old magazines, the Internet, and books I’ve collected. I glued them all together and realized the setting kept coming back to the bathroom- the fantasy of the tiled, pastel bathroom with the vanity and storage for all the makeup, tools for hair, the shower, the razors, the towels, the hair oils, the nail polish, the medicine, the combs...all the treasures that live in the Girls’ Room.
For a while GLR was called solely, “The Girl’s Room”, but it never felt right. The Girl’s Room felt too girly. It felt like a sorority movie with pillow fights and silent shits. (Girls shit. I shit A LOT and I love it.) But the locker room was different. The locker room is a place where strong women take off their “face”, where they are raw; they shower, reset, and rest for a minute.
The Girls’ Room and Girls’ Locker Room exist hand-in-hand. You dress up in the Girls’ Room, and dress down in the Girls’ Locker Room. You try crazy glitter eyeliner with the door locked in the Girls’ Room while you dry your sweat check your breasts for lumps in the Girls’ Locker Room. Both exist.
Girls’ Locker Room has definitely evolved over this year. It began as more of a look book. I dressed up my little sister, Lucy and cousin, Hilary and we marched out into our town and I snapped pictures of them. But they were not just models. They were my family. All the girls in this book are my friends and family, and so this project inherently
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