Big Girls consists of three larger-than-life charcoal drawings. Each piece portrays a  monumental female figure. The contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests both sanctuary and confinement. Each figure presses up against the edges of the picture plane contemplating their conformity.

I am both the artist and the model in these drawings, which adds to the diaristic approach in each piece. Each panel features a foregrounded female figure. Her physical mass touches every side of the rectangle. These drawings are not a rebuke of thick thighs or large breasts; nor are they about sexualizing the body. Rather, this work investigates how women dwell in space. The triptych is about confrontation, contemplation, and confinement. 

The drawings reference various sources which include direct observation, photographs of my body, and the bodies of family members. I also reference historical paintings and drawings. The major influences are Michelangelo’s and the Madonna of the . Both the Madonna and the sibyls are large, muscular women who occupy the space they dwell with confidence and knowledge of their self-worth. My are in a place of waiting as they contemplate their worthiness and how they are allowed to dwell in their allocated spaces.

M.V. Moran