Sasha Gordon is known for painting surreal, anthropomorphic versions of herself in hyper-realistic detail. The artist uses these doppelgängers to explore the complexity of her identity as a young, queer, Asian-American woman. ‘Trimmings’ is part of a new body of work in which the artist portrays herself in an array of material forms, transposing her physical characteristics into animal, botanical and even geological features. Through these avatars she portrays the othering of unconventional human bodies and examines her own experiences of alienation, whilst challenging the logic of certain limiting social norms.

Here, the artist renders her image in living topiary, her body covered from head-to-toe in painstakingly detailed green leaves. Recalling classical depictions of Aphrodite, the goddess of sexual love, the figure stands in a contrapposto pose and preserves her modesty with two well placed hands. This conventional image of female beauty is threatened by another version of the artist who brandishes a large pair of gardening shears (alarmingly close to the figure's genitalia – a tongue-in-cheek allusion to lesbian sex). Gordon celebrates the interloper’s body by stripping her of clothing, using naturalistic skin tones to accentuate her curves in a further challenge to conventions of femininity.