Little Big Woman is a 3D printed life-size sculpture of an Australian artist with Dwarfism, created for The Big Anxiety Festival in Sydney.

At The Big Anxiety Festival at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum this year, you’ll be able see a life-size 3D print of artist, Debra Keenahan. She’s using the sculpture as a way to confront issues about her condition, dwarfism, and the way people treat her.

She explains:

“I will get glances, I will get furtive looks, points, stares, laughter and sometimes insults and abuse. And all I want to do is just walk down the street… My dwarfism does not disable me. What disables me is people’s attitudes to the dwarfism.”

To make the point very clear, Keenahan’s classical statue reverses the gaze of the viewer. The 3D print is called Little Big Woman: Condescension, where she adopts a similar pose to the way adults might speak to children.

Keenahan says she is often at the receiving end of this pose, which makes her feel like an object to be viewed. With her statue, she wants to change the dynamic and confront the problem of condescension head on.

Creating Little Big Woman: Condescension

In order to create the sculpture, Keenahan worked with Sydney based sculptor, Louis Pratt. They began by scanning Keenahan’s body and modeling the results.

Pratt outlines the process:

“We manipulated every single scan just a little bit so that they’re a little bit different. So one’s a little bit higher, one’s turning a head a little bit more just to create some nuance.”

Next, they 3D printed all of Keenahan’s body parts. To do this, they were using thermal plastic. However, the process was a lengthy one. Two machines were working 24/7 and yet the printing process still took six weeks to complete.

Keenahan wants to challenge the portrayal of dwarves in the art world. Currently, she argues, female dwarves are practically nonexistent. And where they do appear, she says, they’re shown “almost slightly perversely or as pathetic or sad.”

As well as Keenahan, other artists, scientists and mental health experts will be at The Big Anxiety Festival to demonstrate how being creative can offer solutions for anxiety. But, she adds, “my work is not about the anxiety I experience. It’s the anxiety that others can experience around difference.”

The festival takes place between 20 September and 11 November. Visit their website for the full programme of events.

Source: ABC News