Purple Hydrangea 2017

Editor: Soey Milk’s "Purple Hydrangea," created in 2017, is primarily a pencil and watercolor drawing. It feels very intimate and personal, like a page ripped straight from the artist's sketchbook. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: This work seems to echo the artistic concerns within a lineage of feminist art practices, particularly those engaging with the female nude. However, it seems less about objectification and more about presenting a quiet moment of self-reflection, wouldn’t you agree? Think about the pose, the flower—it is carefully positioned to obscure one breast but reveal the other. What does that deliberate choice signify? Editor: I suppose it does challenge the typical male gaze. The gaze feels softer, almost melancholic. Curator: Exactly. And in thinking about that gaze, how might we also interpret the almost ethereal quality of the lines, the "incomplete sketchy" feel, as resistance against rigid societal expectations? It reflects a fluidity, an in-process understanding of self that pushes back against attempts to categorize or contain female identity. The single flower itself acts as both symbol and barrier, femininity expressed yet simultaneously guarded. Editor: It's fascinating to think of it as actively pushing against expectations rather than just passively existing. The artist has purposefully left her work unfinished; can we assume it mirrors life's own constant flux and evolving identity? Curator: Precisely. The “sketchbook art” style amplifies this sense of impermanence. Milk uses what some might consider limitations – incomplete lines, faded colors – to create a powerful statement about the complexities of being, about presenting oneself outside of patriarchal structures that expect completion, perfection. Editor: This has really broadened my perspective. I had initially just seen a beautiful drawing but missed its quiet subversion. Curator: And hopefully you’ll carry that expanded understanding with you to your next encounter.