“Linda vs. Ana” deals with the issues surrounding the representation of women within the mass media, also considering the disease Anorexia Nervosa. The installation questions how connected the media is to the disease and how influential slender models are on the public, specifically young girls.

The installation centres around a female body shape, created out of plaster of paris bandages. The model, an unperfected representation of the female form suggests exactly how women and men are unable to reach the ‘unattainable’ beauty featured in magazines. The quotes presented on the body are extracts of a diary from a women suffering with anorexia, the inner thoughts expressed give an insight into a truly destructive disease, representing that Anorexia is more than a desire to be thin. Two mirrors lead up to the body, implying the distorted vision that these patients suffer with in relation to their body weight, enabling the viewer to read the body from every angle in one position. Four diary entries are attached to the wall behind the body. They are written by the patient herself and her obsessive writing and images introduce the installation.

The media specifically advertising surrounds us from such an early age, but the impact it has on our lives is still debatable Advertising convinces us to buy certain products they think we should need including items to improve our appearance, ranging from cosmetic surgery to dieting pills. This continual need to better ourselves is projected onto the public, by products to ‘fix’ peoples problems.

The work centres around questions about  just how influential is the media on young girls growing up, and does this reflect with the eating disorders which are highly prevalent today.