Young Creators Art spotlight: Minnie Lerner

Minnie Lerner is a sixteen-year-old lesbian, artist, poet, DJ, curator, copy editor, zinester, and postmodernist. Inspired by Riot Grrrl and grunge fashion, she has been collecting vintage lingerie and has recently been integrating it into her artwork. Her sculpture is a pink corset that has been ripped and shredded. It barely hangs together from a hanger and is feebly embroidered with a bright pink thread that dangles with the bodice’s lacing. The piece evokes a powerful broken emotion—heightened by the symbolism achieved through the destruction of a clothing item that signifies female beauty, sexuality, and even subjugation.

In our conversation, Minnie explained that when she made this artwork she had been suffering from anorexia, yet somehow was able to turn to this piece for solace. At times, it was physically taxing to make, but she slowly continued. She said that the final result was “a piece so powerful and evocative of my pain [that others] understood it as a cry for help”—the piece was able to communicate the state she was in with those around her. Yet now, when she looks at the work, she sees her own strength. She says the sculpture “serves as a reminder of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.”

Minnie Lerner’s sculpture for Young Creators Project is made using vintage lingerie.