veronica leto

artist statement

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I am shouting the things I was taught to leave unsaid. Food is an instrument of joy and comfort; fat people will not be denied that. Fashion is an instrument of expression and identity; fat people will not be denied that. Health care is an instrument of dignity and respect; fat people will not be denied that. My work confronts ideologies that preach perfectionism, exclusivity, and shame. I want my viewer to feel empowered by the fantasy element of reclaimed and flipped narratives while also having their perspective challenged by critique of systemic fat oppression.   

 

My approach is interdisciplinary with strong ties to printmaking processes and material. Lately, there is a playfulness to my confrontation and I am leaning into the urge to weaponize my humor via performance and large scale paper mache. Discomfort is not the goal of my exposing nature -- in fact it is infuriating that a fat belly is so problematic to so many people --  but I embrace the transformative power of discomfort’s inevitability.

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I live outside of Nashville, TN with my wife Lis and our two labradoodles, Kevin Bacon and Indigo Moon. 

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