Average (arithmetic mean) of women’s bodies

Between 1939 and 1940 the United States Government conducted a study
of the measurements of women’s bodies to establish a standardized system of
garment and pattern sizes. The central theme of my research is to analyze the
female figure in the context of a technology-driven global contemporary society.
My thesis exhibition includes a body of work that echoes the pressures that
Western Society employs by standardizing women’s appearances. The focus of
the work is to confront the viewer with a visual examination, which illustrates the
preconceived notion that Western Society portrays the female body as a
commodity and exports those views to different cultures and societies. This calls
to question: “who makes those standards endorsed by society and why women
follow them?”.
From the standardized measurements conducted by the United States
Government, I generated a 2-D computer model of an outline of the generic
female figure. Based on the 2-D representation, I constructed a series of ten
27”x36” inkjet prints and a 3-Dimensional prototype of the figurative form. The
project consist on the manufacture of 14,698 molds base on the 3-
Dimensional prototype -- 10% reduction of the size of the average female.