Vicky Hodgson Is a British photographer whose practice investigates the relationship between photography, self-portraiture and performance. This work explores the representation and social construction of the ageing female body and the injustice and inequity older women experience when ageism and sexism combine to discriminate against them. As an older woman, she uses her body to disrupt moments in her life that contributed to the prejudice of sexism and ageism she now experiences. Drawing on the emotions and feelings emerging from these encounters, family album photographs and lived experiences, these self-portraits present a personal portrayal of ageing.
Her practice-based PhD, A Personal Performance of Ageing: Using Photography to Challenge the Social Construction of the Older Woman's Body, is near completion. The supervisors of her research are Prof Anna Fox, University for the Creative Arts, and Prof Estella Tincknell, University of the West of England.
When a bride conforms to the cultural 'norms' of heterosexual wedding attire, she adheres to the long-established Western ritual of wearing a white dress, a lace veil and carrying a bouquet of pale-coloured flowers. However, the wedding dress is the most significant item of this costume as it symbolizes purity.This distinctly gendered look promotes the ideology of a fairy tale wedding with the promise of romance and happiness while continuing to advance and endorse the fabrication of femininity. The power and surveillance of consumerism ensure that women continue to promote and maintain this charade. This series aims to subvert the 'norms' of the white wedding dress. I tie up my veil and perform as a 'sweet bride' before cutting up the white wedding dress and throwing it away. All that is left is the veil and the flower.