Melanie FerDon was born in New Orleans, but now works and exhibits in New Zealand.

Her main interest is the figure; the power of the gaze directed at the painting, the power of the gaze directed at the viewer, our perceptions
of beauty, and our perceptions of gender.

Her new series is based around burlesque performers of the 1940's that provokes questions about confused gender issues that have led us
to a near genderless society in the 2000's.