DOCUMENTATION:

2017

RECEPTION PHOTOS from Fairbanks Gallery at Oregon State University:

Acting Assigned is a projection, both literal and metaphorical, about targeted language used to stereotype children’s understanding of their assigned sex at birth and the expected gender based on that assigned sex. Children’s toys are genderized by color, influencing what is expected of a child based on the type of toy that is used when teaching them. If a pink house is given to a child assigned female at birth, there are overt influences that are being shown to the child. The language that comes with these toys and ideas also reinforces binary thinking and assimilation for this child. See projection for examples.
The visuals for this projection are readable only through looking into a mirror. This forces the viewer to take a literal step into the shoes of someone who has these gender ideals projected onto them in daily life. Though that someone might not identify with what is being projected upon them, these words have an impact on how they acknowledge the world around them.