Tamsyn Challenger: The Tamsynettes

The search for a fountain of eternal youth remains a significant metaphor for the human condition in these modern media-saturated times. Although there is a plethora of cosmetic products and procedures claiming to shave years from one's physical appearance, time marches on regardless, indifferent to our neuroses and our stubborn refusal to accept fate. Fortunately, the contemporary obsession with skin-deep beauty infuriates some of us. Tamsyn Challenger is one of these people. Having born witness to the violent side of this fear-driven ideology of modern beauty, Challenger's sculptures and installations starkly reflect these experiences and are therefore intensely visceral, making us immediately aware of our mortality and the futility of attempting to hide one's true age behind a mask that is plain to see is merely a mask. Challenger aims to be the most post-modern woman she knows, and to inspire others to reject the doctrine of beauty as espoused by modern popular culture.