Payton Reid

Project:
TOOTHACHE

Statement: My work focuses on my experience as a woman who has struggled with mental health issues and my relationship with womanhood from my teenage years to adulthood. I have been expressing these concepts in paintings, films, and writing throughout my college career. 

Much of my inspiration comes from women in horror films such as Jennifer’s Body where female characters are given control over their fate in a genre where they are typically portrayed as helpless. I am passionate about subverting the male gaze and reclaiming stereotypes that have been demonized or discredited. To me, femininity means unbridled rage, sadness, beauty, and unapologetic healing. 

In more recent years, I adopted the pantomime stock character of Pierrot, the sad clown, to become a vessel for these ideas. Exploring the gruesome nature of coming-of-age, the trauma of girlhood, and the intensity of female friendships through my reworking of this character has allowed me to interpret my own experiences in a way that feels authentic to me. 

I am currently working on bringing my characters to life through experimental short films.

Bio:

“I heard a woman becomes herself
the first time she speaks
without permission
then, every word out of her mouth
a riot”

Denice Frohman 

Payton Reid is a filmmaker and painter currently living in Olympia, Washington. Her work focuses on relationships with womanhood, mental health, and femininity outside of gendered stereotypes and social constructs. To explore these ideas, she often uses the familiar image of a sad clown as these characters are traditionally men who are allowed to express emotions without shame. Payton is currently exploring experimental filmmaking as a way to create a culmination of these ideas. Her short film Toothache will be completed in the spring of 2021. She is studying media at The Evergreen State College where she will complete a Bachelor’s degree.

Bio for Media: Payton Reid is a multimedia artist focusing on experimental filmmaking and painting. 

Her work focuses on relationships with womanhood, mental health, and femininity outside of gendered stereotypes and social constructs. To explore these ideas, she often uses the familiar image of a sad clown as these characters are traditionally men who are allowed to express emotions without shame.  Her short film, Toothache, is a culmination of these ideas and will be completed in June 2021.