Women Who Refuse to be Invisible started out as a series of mixed media, nontraditional, portraits of women (60+ years-old) in which I’ve tried to capture the power and presence of women in response to society’s persistent gender roles and misogyny. 

Here are women who show up and take up their rightful space in the world. Women who don’t mind being seen wearing a keffiyeh in support of Palestine, who flip the bird at the patriarchy, who stare unapologetically at the viewer with the intensity of Medusa, or whose anger is visually amplified by knifelike thistles.

Most of the portraits are larger than life-size for a more imposing presence. I chose to work with nontraditional color palettes and with abstract patterns as background.  Collage is present in most of the images.  I experimented with political text as a secondary element in some of the portraits to intensify emotion and as a reference to activist posters. 

This portrait series has since expanded in scope and I’ve included versions of the female scream as a depiction of women’s rage and frustration. 

My sincere thanks to all the models. Without you, I couldn’t have attempted this series. Your friendship and camaraderie are an inspiration.  

Anastasia Andersen