Claudia Chanhoi’s cheeky illustrations depict her take on female sexuality

Illustrator Claudia Chanhoi got into illustration back in 2013 while at university. “I was working on a project called, Sexual Objectification of Women, and I found the medium of illustration worked very well with the idea I wanted to convey. I wanted to explore the problem of gender inequality in a lighthearted way, so I created some erotic illustrations which were simple and colourful,” explains Claudia.

Four years on and Claudia has continued to create raunchy works inspired by her experiences and research on gender and sex. “I grew up in a Hong Kong Chinese Catholic family, and was taught female sexuality is passive and vulnerable,” says Claudia. After leaving an all girls catholic school at the age of 12, Claudia was inundated with sexualised imagery which saw the female body continually being used “as a sex object to sell everything”, a result of gender inequality.

Through research and finding solace in empowered female artists Claudia now enjoys “shifting perspectives and power” in her work, and interpreting the world in her own way. “My work is based on my personal experience as a heterosexual woman dating in the modern world, and my view on female sexuality through humour and sarcasm,” says Claudia.

Using flat blocks of colour and bold linework, the illustrator depicts various female body parts in grand banquets and detailed rooms, with wobbly boob-based jellies and bodacious booty wall hangings decorating her illustrated scenes. Her work is cheeky and amusing, yet Claudia is keen for her audience to see more than just a load of “nipples and boobs”. “I always want more depth to my work. Captions are a very important element to the imagery because I believe a piece of good work is not only visually interesting, but it also needs to serve a purpose,” she says.

Claudia’ work is currently only show at Tranter Sinni Gallery, Miami until 14 April 2017.