sophia
dejesus-sabella

Nip Slip was a solo exhibition at The Arts Industry in West Hartford, CT on view from August 24th - September 13th, 2024.

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Nip Slip presented fiber, print, sculpture, installation, video, and performance work by Sophia DeJesus-Sabella. The title refers to the phenomenon of a “nip slip,” an accidental and usually public exposure of a woman’s nipple. The works in this exhibition play with the illusion of transparency, intentionality, and the boundaries between personal, professional, public, and private spheres. 

 

Concerned with the cosmic and spiritual implications of misogyny, the artist addresses undervalued labor by screen printing and hand weaving 14 yards of transparent fabric and documenting the project, in lingerie, via paid livestreams on Fansly. The near-invisible printed lace pattern evokes the flawed logic that if labor isn’t seen, it isn’t worth doing. By situating the domestic within the industrial, Nip Slip creates a distorted simulacra of reality, offering glimpses into intimate parts of the artist’s life and questioning the delineation between personal and professional identities. 

 

Nip Slip reflects on contemporary issues of survival, agency, and the commodification of female bodies and labor. It presents an opportunity to consider the fantastical potential in the everyday, drawing on Audre Lorde’s concept of the erotic as a source of power and subversion. Through the use of materials like insulation sheeting, ceramic, beeswax and dys/functional objects, the exhibition interrogates social expectations and highlights the resilience and creativity inherent in survival and self-actualization.