Bodily Form Series
My new ceramic sculpture series. The work draws attention to the contrasting forms and textures of the human figure and natural clay. It also acts as a representation of my own daily struggles.
Like many millennials, I suffer from anxiety and depression. Yet even in our connected, scientific, and medically advanced world these disorders are stigmatized, overlooked, or seen as weak. In my sculptures I combine different techniques, such as rough clay slabs, thrown forms, molded figurative pieces, and sculpted plant elements to manifest my battle with these issues. I see my issues not as something I must deal with, but as something that makes me the person I am. In my sculptures, each element represents a different aspect my journey and how it changes daily. The coarse slabs are my anxiety, the refined thrown forms are the face I show the world, the delicate plants are the fragility of my mind, and the figurative forms are my attempt to try to hold everything together. Sometimes the slabs conquer the piece or rip apart the thrown form, while other times the plants thrive and take over. The parts may not seem to fit together visually, but they create a coherent whole; me.
