Let us set the scene, we were scrolling through Instagram and there it was, this incredible piece of artwork. It felt strangely familiar but this time, it wasn’t over-sexualised and instead it captured the wholesomeness and beauty of queer love.
The talent behind this piece is, Halie Torris, based in Maryland, Halie paints “from the female gaze” and creates stunning pieces. We caught up with Halie to talk about her new artwork as well as life as a queer artist.
Can you explain the inspiration behind your new piece?
Girls in purple” was inspired by two beautiful muses and content creators @thejellyfilledgirls. I firstly want to acknowledge them for this painting because it felt like a true collaboration. I was drawn to their work and the way that they produce their content in an ethical way.
In their videos, it feels like they are sharing their connection with others and opening up a realm of representation for us queer women. Naturally, I immediately wanted to paint them and they let me choose to work off of one of their reference photos. I was caught by a photo that looked like you were gazing into an intimate moment – a moment frozen in time. I wanted to capture that.
The photo had so much power and depth that I wanted to morph into my own painting style to highlight the energy between these two women. I’ve been wanting to paint a real-life couple for a very long time. Most of my work is self-portraiture and exploring narratives through the female gaze and lens of a queer woman.
What does “Painting women from the female gaze” mean to you?
The female gaze for me is merely perceiving life through the lens of “woman.” What we notice and pick up on in the world… what gets brought to our attention in our experiences.
In art, just continually questioning and asking what is important to us. Art has been seen through the male gaze since antiquity and I want to bring to light what being a female artist means in today’s world. I realize my immense privilege that I have as a female artist today – being able to paint what I do and create some sort of platform for myself – using tools that women previously were never given as well as creating work under my own name.
What is your favourite piece to date?
My favourite piece is “excess” which is a piece that I did last year at this time. It is my largest piece to date and one that took over three steady months to complete. It’s a very ironic narrative… the wave right behind the sitter and a pair of hands resting on her shoulders.
It’s quite a blissful scene, yet when your eye travels there’s broken glass and an overall state of unease throughout the work. I love capturing that anonymity within my work as often I find that the male gaze and society makes one feel unseen in their sexuality or looked over in general.
What have been the highs and lows of being a queer artist?
You can follow and support Halie Torris over on Instagram
