Samus Aran suit up 

Editor: This is "Samus Aran suit up" by Stanley Artgerm Lau. It seems to be an acrylic paint and digital art portrait. The work has a powerful quality. How would you read into it? Curator: Considering this within a Materialist framework, I'm immediately drawn to the sleekness of the "suit up" itself. This is not just armor; it's a crafted commodity. Reflect on the production of the artwork: the use of digital art points to contemporary modes of creation and distribution, and consider that along side the fact it imitates the techniques of traditional acrylic- where are these materials sourced? What is the production history of the computer itself? Editor: That is an insightful consideration regarding digital material in relation to actual "materials." The character has become so culturally iconic. How does this image play with our consumption of that image, her role in society, and expectations about femininity in video games? Curator: Precisely! Consider the gaze that traditionally defines the woman as art object, as spectacle, as a thing to be acquired and admired. This figure, Samus Aran, stands astride of this perspective, as this work suggests: she presents with grace and beauty, yet has no need to display it; as the viewer is given her visage, she presents also her helmet – her labor, her service – the literal armouring against being seen as a single piece to admire from afar, or attain to own. In short, a representation of the subject reclaiming their production for themselves. Where is the boundary here between creation and artifice? Editor: Wow, seeing it that way has definitely made me rethink about the cultural material surrounding "Samus Aran suit up". The tools of production really highlight that! Curator: Indeed; thank you.