Vulva Magazine focuses and reflects on the life of the modern woman, featuring inspirational stories from all over the world, with women of all ages, race, size - everyone is included! Vulva Magazine is a platform which gives a voice to women.
- INNER GODDESS -
An Interview with Rosie Beard
Meet Rosie Beard. Illustrator, artist, embroiderer and a big advocate of 80s porn.
Rosie Beard is based in Forest of Dean, England but is moving to Madrid within a mere few weeks. New experiences and people await her, but what about the now? Her influences, hopes and how did she become the woman she is today?
From a young age, Rosie was drawn to more imaginary and whimsical imagery drawings. Stories, fairies, legends, folklore and a heck of imagination led her to the art world. Getting in the art world is something else entirely. Saying no to fine art and graphic design, illustration became her new home. Working collaboratively with people from fine art to fashion; including the V&A, the Brick Lane Gallery and working with Piers Atkinson gave so much freedom and opportunities for work. One even led to creating the Vagina Quilt (coming to the British Museum soon) in support of stopping Female Genital Mutilation.
The main theme of her work is femininity. “I do play on nymph-like, erotic characters on the female end of the spectrum.” Rosie focuses on the link between nature, humanity and the earth. This has led to people walking into her studio whilst she was watching 80s porn. There were a lot of big labias on the screen. “It’s so funny because they’re like what the hell are you doing? But now their reaction is just ‘oh that’s Rosie.”.
Inspirations include artists Hogarth and Bonnard, with fashion influences from Gucci collections, Zhandra Rhodes to the drag scene and their crazy costumes. Rosie can just be outside and see something in a window that inspires her. Somehow she can make a beetle and the female body collide and make it look stunning. “I did a whole series around bees after researching their mating and sexuality,” Rosie continues, ”The males run around after this Queen Bee, and pollinate a load of flowers - they are basically having sex with a load of flowers - then bringing it back to the Queen Mother-bee.” The definition of male peacocking has never been more relevant.
Sex does influence her work as well. There are so many people who are scared of sex, which is mad because reproduction is the way of life. “We aren’t going to be here if there was no reproduction. Every organism on this planet we reproduce.” There’s a lot of influences from science like the reproduction of cells and mass which influences Rosies work as well. At the moment, she looks towards the reproduction of life and death and how everything dies gets replaced.
On a more aesthetic level, women also influence Rosie. Since she was young, powerful female figures and, in particular, the female body is a core focus for her. In her own words, she said, “Each female is different and that should be represented.”
The conversation drifted towards the show, Naked Attraction, where several singletons critique each other’s naked bods on national television in the journey of finding love. We both found it interesting, fascinating and slightly offensive all at the same time. Going stark naked on TV is definitely something that takes balls. Big balls. Pun intended. “Are they a chauvinist to go on there and flaunt their body?” Rosie asks. As there should be different types of bodies being shown to the national public, not just the one type we see on the show - but on the other hand, we do need something like Naked Attraction on TV. Would you stand in a box naked, with a screen rising upwards, slowly revealing your body to the public?
“From a narcissistic point, I’d be coming off like oh I forgot to shave that’s why,” says Rosie. But is it for the female gaze or the male gaze? “I don’t think men give a shit. Their goal is to get something in something. All they want is their penis inside you.” And that is the reality. It doesn’t matter if you have a 70s bush or a strip down on your vaj. It’s sex. Oral sex is a bit different with some people in terms of body hair. But is this a stigma that needs to be addressed? Rosie couldn’t have summed it up better, “I’m in my 30s now, I’m single and bisexual and I think oh god I haven’t shaved. You have that when you’re single but in longterm relationships, it doesn’t matter too much and it’s sad it matters so bad. You’re a peacock. A few years down the line your fella will be seeing you wee.“
From collaborative shows, to solo exhibitions and working with Villasana (an artist in Madrid), Rosie is showing her work to the world. “I want to keep going,” she said straight away when I asked about her future in illustrative work and her career. She continues, “You never know what the future holds, so it’s about persevering with my naked ladies - whether it is on porcelain, big art pieces, tapestries or swimwear.”
Leaving for Madrid came on by a whim, she is a free spirit and is sick to death of the word Brexit. Aren’t we all. The arguments and politics are plain depressing now. “I decided to go because I have a lot of artistic friends who have a lot of art contacts with street artists who base themselves out there.” It’s always good as an artist to leave your comfort zone and go to areas with more inspiration. You learn more about yourself, as you always should. With all the illustration agencies, to which there are a lot in Madrid, you end up producing more work in different mediums.
“It is funny when people ask if my work is based on life drawings, friends or even myself. I get that question regularly, more so from dad’s than anyone else.” Rosie asks is this a pervy thing or are they just intrigued? Is it the embarrassment of showing my artwork? Rosies work isn’t inadvertently graphic, it’s nymph-like. One of the most popular pieces of Rosie’s work is “Listen to your Goddess”, as shown on the right.
Another of Rosie’s inspirations are strip clubs. One night she randomly ended up at one and just watched women dance. That was the moment she became interested in the female body and movement. “It was the idea that men were paying a lot of money to have the privilege of being with a gorgeous stripper without anything sexual happening was just fascinating.”
One thing that Rosie Beard wants to tell young women? Always be completely true to yourself.
“Don’t ever conform to norms or society. There is so much social pressure of “we have to have careers, we have to get married and have children”. If you don’t have children, you are a failure. If you want to be a stay-at-home mum you aren’t going enough. There is so much pressure and my advice is just you, enjoy yourself and don’t listen to social norms and ideals that are thrust upon you.”
And she is absolutely right. You cannot listen to those ideals. If we talk about gender norms and stereotypes, we can clearly see a difference. Men have always been deemed a career from the offset. It’s always been at the forefront of their mind for them as being the main breadwinners. Which most definitely isn’t a bad thing. Equilibrium is the main way to look at things nowadays.
Younger women now are more career-driven than ever but it is difficult because you can focus so much on your career and then you’ll have one person turn around and ask why aren’t you married. It’s not wrong. Society deems Rosie to be old when she isn’t. She is young!
I asked her what she might’ve changed looking back at the start of her career, to which she replied, “I wish I broke out of certain situations younger and break out of social norms. To go with my career and art to do what I wanted to do.”
There will always be hate somewhere along the line if you are true to yourself. If you are quite a strong opinionated female, you’re going to get more of a battle than if you want to conform. Conforming is neither a good or bad thing, but when you have a different pathway in life, it is difficult as a woman and people will constantly put you down. They will constantly tell you-you’re gobby and if you talk about sex it’s wrong. You’ll get so much love and hate. But that is life.
Rosie Beard is an incredible woman, her artwork is just divine and it was a privilege to meet her. I look forward to seeing her next pieces of work!
Written by Hannah Mathieson
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