Artist Statement

As a queer girl newly discovering her sexuality, one deterrent in my journey to self-acceptance was the lack of positive media to consume about sapphic individuals. Sapphic is an umbrella term for women who love other women, such as lesbians, bisexual women, pansexual women, as well as feminine aligning non-binary, and so on. Our representation in widespread consumed forms of media are overly sexualized and made to be viewed through a male lens. More often than not, this representation contains infidelity, highly sexual, and even predatory themes. As someone coming to terms with the idea of loving differently, it was hard to believe that my existence was not predatory or overtly sexual. And oftentimes than not, when you are coming of age, one of the most important feelings is the feeling of belonging somewhere.

The Sapphic Project allows for a more comfortable environment for those coming of age or in their early adult years to form an accepting relationship within themselves and their sexuality; to understand that the influences formed by the skewed representation of sapphics do not necessarily mean that they should fall into the same category. It is a space for sapphic individuals to control how the world sees them. With designs ranging in different levels of visibility, between boldly saying "I'm gay!" to subtly having hints of sapphic love in them that only other sapphics would notice. It allows for sapphics to have ways to show their uniqueness to those who will accept them while maintaining their safety and comfort.

Rowan Vogel