This painting is part of a series titled “I’d Rather Sink Than Call Brad for Help” (a phrase familiar from one of Roy Lichtenstein’s most noted works). In it, oversized male forms take on the characteristics of sea animals, surfacing in an endless body of water surrounded by birds. Mimicking the breathing pattern of whales, some bodies spray water from their belly buttons. In this alternate reality, the vital use of this orifice reminds us of how all human life enters the world.

In this recent series, Alexandra Rubinstein examines man’s relationship to land and the binary gendering of nature that has shaped it. After centuries of exploring and exploiting Earth, men have drained its resources, leaving it on the verge of a meltdown. These paintings draw attention to water, arguably the most critical natural resource threatened by climate change, by depicting the dissolution of man within beautiful yet surreal environments that illustrate the planet’s inevitable destruction. By tying the male figure and its genitalia to the fragility of nature, rather than the female, Rubinstein exposes man as vulnerable, challenging familiar ideas of masculine dominance and strength.

Inspired by the arduous experience of immigrating on the cusp of puberty, Alexandra Rubinstein’s art focuses on the intersection of culture, gender, and power. By combining mundane and familiar images with explicit ones, she creates a new narrative that rebels against social constructs. Her perspective and commentary are often expressed through men’s bodies, and particularly their sex organs, as a source of judgment and scrutiny—an art historical realm usually dominated by the female figure.