From the artist: The Dancer, Perceived is an act of defiance—a work of resistance against the male gaze and the ways in which female voices are often overlooked. This piece shines a light on a pervasive imbalance: the way men often place greater validity on their own perceptions, reasoning, and interpretations, disregarding the lived realities women attempt to communicate. The craft itself—cutting and carving—becomes a metaphor for this tension, embodying both precision and fragility, as though the dancer herself is being shaped by rough external forces.

The Dancer, Perceived stands as a reflection of the broader struggles women continue to face, from the dismissal of their autonomy in personal relationships to the larger societal structures that perpetuate these imbalances. In a time when hostility toward women’s rights is resurging, this piece serves as a call to reclaim agency, to be seen not as an object of perception but as a force of resistance.