Eden Taff

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ARTIST STATEMENT:

“I find it quite difficult to look at myself in the mirror without shifting my body to fit a preferred angle. The last nude self-portrait I did was before two years of intense eating disorders, and I completed this one in recovery. It is strange to see myself represented life-size on canvas; it is as if my dysmorphic vision does not know how or where to manifest in this painting. 

I painted this in my apartment bedroom on the wall facing my bed so that I could see the image change every morning after a day of work. The gradual coming-together of my body is perhaps a sped-up reflection of my growth over quarantine. 

I realize now that I appear angry in this painting. I assume that I am angry at myself for withstanding an abusive partner for so long, or for spending so much grueling time manipulating my body. I continue to bear a depressive numbness that obstructs any anger from arising, so my anxious emotions often overlap in order to cover anger with fear. This piece is a needed release of a negative affect of which I was previously unaware.”

Photograph of the artist. She is wearing pearls and a fur jacket. She is sitting on a staircase with an elaborate iron railingBIO:

Eden Taff is a 20 year old Jewish artist from the Washington, DC area. She is a sophomore at NYU Gallatin studying art theory and studio art. Taff’s work embodies the four fundamental concepts of psychoanalytic theory in the context of relationships and self-reflection. Taff works with oil and acrylic paint, graphite, charcoal, mixed media, fashion design, mural design, and performative video art. Taff has sold her artwork since age 12 and has since worked in conceptual architectural design and visual marketing. She has participated in seven art exhibitions in the DC area, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Taff has sixteen Scholastic Gold and Silver Keys for drawing and painting. Her work was first published at age 15 in Rookie Magazine, and she was the first commissioned graphic clothing designer for Basketcase Gallery at ComplexCon Chicago and Miami. Taff currently sells her work to collectors across the US. 

Follow her Instagram here.