Scroll, swipe, like. Yawn.
Wait, is that a nipple? Nope, just a … beautiful and well-lit building interior. Huh?
That’s how digital artist @scientwehst is blessing Instagram feeds, with collages that intertwine the art of nudity and architecture, making us reconsider the female body and pay attention to the artistry — all while giving ubiquitous online censorship a swift stomp in the face.
In the Instagram era, all forms of art and nudity are constantly at our grimy fingertips. Whether we’re leisurely scrolling through the Supreme account for a coveted skate deck to adorn the dingy white walls of our one-bedroom apartment, or frantically searching PornHub for that one video, we’re accustomed to seeing plenty of skin and beauty in all forms on our feeds.
Showcasing the ever-glorious female form in collages she describes as “brazenly feminine,” 27-year-old Brooklynite scientwehst portrays nude images from porn overlapped with bits and pieces of modern architecture as a celebration of femininity and a blatant dastardization of censorship in the digital age.
Because how can social media overlords censor an ass when it’s actually just a bright, lustrous museum lobby? Or a vagina when it’s the Arc de Triomphe (hate to brag ladies, but … )?
The social media platform that is arguably the most popular among artists and everyday scrollers is also the most infamous for censorship. Boasting over 800 million active monthly users who upload over 95 million photos each day, it’s surprising Instagram actually has the resources to keep up with censorship, let alone the cojones. But for photographers, painters and other artists who share and market original work online, the frustration is real — especially when he or she makes a sincere effort to follow the platform’s oft-vague guidelines for what types of posts are acceptable.
“When it comes to our bodies, I feel like censorship is kind of ridiculous,” Marsico says in a calm, unbothered voice that she assures is definitely not a result of smoking weed.
The artist whose Instagram handle used to end with “420” actually no longer indulges in such activities. “It was super random and we were high,” she said of creating her online alias (now @scientwehst) with a group of friends about three years ago. It was intended to be a play on "science" and "twisting" a joint, but she edited it when she stopped smoking weed. “I tried to spell it phonetically and that just didn’t happen. Everyone completely butchers it all the time.”
Weed-based or not, her sensual digital collages are kind of trippy. More importantly, they force the viewer to reevaluate what he or she is seeing as more than a naked female body.
But why "censor" with architecture? Creating this kind of art must mean she walks into any random building and think, Wow, this would be a perfect vagina for my next piece. But Marsico said it evolved more naturally, and she gets plenty of help from Google image searches.
“If you look in my work in the beginning, it was sometimes a sea creature or a Venus fly trap, then I gravitated more towards architecture because I felt like there were a lot of cool buildings and things that worked really well with the female body … and a lot of similarities between architecture and the body, so it kind of just made sense.”
Some can remember the times online of weird AOL chat rooms and a much less regulated web that exposed every young, impressionable little brain to things they probably shouldn’t have been be seeing. That undoubtedly affected millions of sexualities and how it intersects with an online presence.
But what does it mean to be censored on such a popular site nowadays?
“I feel like it’s the nature of the beast, it’s kind of out of our control,” says Marsico. “This platform doesn’t give you much say in it. You can fight and fight and fight … it’s definitely angering, but there’s also nothing I can really do about it.”
Something Marsico places a lot of importance on is our ability as a society to communicate and educate on things like sex, body positivity, gender inequality and how different voices are stifled in these conversations and everyday life.
Although she never expected her artwork to take off and have the effect that it has — from enraging people who are offended by the female body to empowering other women to embrace themselves in every form — Marsico feels honored to be a part of that conversation and inspire others to think differently about censorship and sexuality.
“I never anticipated to get as much attention as it has gotten,” she says. “But I’m glad; it’s awesome that people see it and think one way, and a lot of times they think it’s subverting the male gaze.”
In a society so exhaustingly dominated by men within practically every industry, Marsico is one of the many artists whose work helps, in whatever small way, to infiltrate this system and work towards a more conscious and accepting society.
“When it comes to censorship of our bodies, I think that a good way to fight that would be to just have these conversations, like this conversation we’re having right now, and showing people images that kind of force you to question and require more information about it. Being more creative and having more conversations around it will help fight censorship of our bodies, for sure.”
Noting frustration at her lack of education in sex and gender issues growing up, Marisco feels encouraged by the freedom with which teenagers and young adults can discuss such topics now, be it on social media or other public platforms.
“Only now am I able to have these conversations and be sexually liberated after so many years of not really understanding why I’m feeling this way, and have Instagram be a place where people can actually talk about it and you feel like there’s someone that actually understands you, in a way.”
With thousands of likes and a flood of comments on every post she shares on Instagram — which range from her original digital collages to artsy selfies to other artists’ usually-titillating work (always credited) — it’s a wonder Marsico is able to maintain her cool-girl demeanor. Fortunately the haters seem to weed themselves out, and most comments are gushing and appreciative. The girl power is evident with plenty of females constantly engaging with her work.
And that’s what it’s all about: encouraging female empowerment and being unapologetically whoever you want to be as a woman. Being "brazenly feminine," as her Instagram bio states, regardless of gender, perceived flaws, male sexualization and no matter who (or what) tries to silence you and bring you down.
“‘Brazenly feminine’ means unabashedly being feminine and a woman and not being afraid or inhibited in your sexuality. It’s being completely bold and shameless in your sexuality and who you are being a woman, no matter how you identify.”
Leave a Reply