Megan Riley

Atelier 39 project

Self, Preserved

As I march firmly into my sixties, I can’t help but notice (and yes, participate in) the absurd lengths women–in life and on social media–go to in an attempt to stop the unstoppable, aging. We are bombarded with a staggering variety of creams, potions, procedures and exercises designed to keep us young. The results are often hilariously cringe-worthy. More horrifying than if we did nothing at all. Beneath all this lies society‘s demand for youth and perfection, and to erase the physical manifestations of a life lived.Our worth tied to how well we preserve the physical version of ourselves that once was.

Self, Preserved is about the desire to resist time and the folly in trying to control what is meant to change. Using metaphor and humor, I explore this concept by sealing physical representations of women’s body parts (including my own) in plastic. These plastic encased objects become distorted and unnatural, just like we become the harder we try to stop the natural process of aging. The irony being that the more we attempt to preserve the bits of ourselves, the more disconnected we become from our whole, authentic self.

Artist Bio

Megan Riley is an interdisciplinary artist and graphic designer whose practice is about possibility. She is interested in image making beyond traditional photographic documentation, playfully creating stories through observation and transformation.

Riley’s work has been exhibited in the Griffin Museum of Photography, Photoplace Gallery, the Hull Artists Association and published by Massachusetts College of Art. She received a BA in Fine Art, with a minor in Art History from the University of Vermont, and an MS inCommunication Design from Pratt Institute. Riley has over 25 years experience as a graphic and web designer. She was Promotions Art Director for Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines in New York and worked in the financial sector in Boston. After 11 years as CreativeDirector at the New England Aquarium she now pursues her artistic practice full time. She lives and works in Hingham, MA.