In this artwork I have been deliberately placing myself into my tentative and awkward younger body by re-wearing old clothing and performing gestures in found clothing. The act of reenacting, reclaiming and exaggerating the awkward ways I have presented myself through clothing and movement throughout my life helps me to untangle convoluted emotions around my body with vulnerability and humour. Letting yourself go: This phrase, that means ceasing to cultivate one’s appearance for an audience, has the capacity to instill deep-seated shame and embarrassment in a person's body and choices. It encompasses just one of those double standards of appearance and behaviour that women and non-binary folks face on a daily basis. For instance, while women's bodies are constantly scrutinized and objectified by the male gaze, they are considered distasteful and repulsive when they are not acceptably controlled by the cover of clothing. My self portraiture challenges double standards in our society regarding how women are expected to look and behave, considering the pejurative phrase 'letting yourself go' to be a conscious and deliberate act. Through these self portraits I like to focus on those moments when my body, in the face of a multitude of constrictive judgments and standards, reveals itself unabashedly through the cover of clothing. With sags, bumps, and wedgies, fabric and the body come to terms with one another's presence in endlessly original ways.