Artist Statement: Animals
Animals have been used in stories as metaphors and analogues for human experiences and feelings for ages. Their representations are a source of comfort, protection, wisdom, insight, tragedy and sorrow. In reality, we manipulate, control, use and abuse these very same animals for our own benefit. The sculptures I create stem from this dichotomy.
My recent work consists of hand-built clay and mixed media animal sculptures adorned with non-traditional ceramic surfaces. The composite animals are not individual portraits nor true to any original source, rather they embody elements from several species into distinct forms. I omit or conceal the eyes to silence the animals, to evoke introspection, and to further enhance their ambiguity. They are fractured and dislocated, reflecting my experience of a contemporary culture that is not whole. Expressions of distress and dejection exist side-by-side with qualities of being well loved and having lived well. The sculptures exist on the lines between joy and sorrow, pride and humiliation, fear and security, hope and despair, and love and neglect. Ultimately, the animals function as representations of emotional states not fixed to time, place, or specific experiences.
The animals in my work are tender, innocent survivors of manipulation and alteration. They call out for attention from their disturbed and/or overly loved states. Qualities of distress, suffering, sorrow, despair, despondence, dejection, desperation, and anguish exist side-by-side with qualities of being well loved and having lived well. The animal figures represent the point where the innocent become the exploited, the controlled and, sometimes, the feared. They are at a place of no return, worn down and on the edge of existence. Through my work I aim to suggest that violence and vulnerability is not out in some far-off war zone, but rather at the very heart of our domestic lives’ chaos and disorder.
Ultimately, I use animals as stand-ins for people to examine the human condition. Our emotional lives are often hidden through layers of physical disguise, however the animals I create “wear” their experiences on the outside. Although they are mute, they convey various feelings through gesture and expression. The content of my sculptures comes out of personal experience, but the original narrative is not necessary. Emotional expression speaks for itself and does not need the details of a story to be felt. Through my work, I aim to bring emotion to the forefront of a conversation in order to more deeply connect with others.
Click here to read the General Artist Statement
Animals have been used in stories as metaphors and analogues for human experiences and feelings for ages. Their representations are a source of comfort, protection, wisdom, insight, tragedy and sorrow. In reality, we manipulate, control, use and abuse these very same animals for our own benefit. The sculptures I create stem from this dichotomy.
My recent work consists of hand-built clay and mixed media animal sculptures adorned with non-traditional ceramic surfaces. The composite animals are not individual portraits nor true to any original source, rather they embody elements from several species into distinct forms. I omit or conceal the eyes to silence the animals, to evoke introspection, and to further enhance their ambiguity. They are fractured and dislocated, reflecting my experience of a contemporary culture that is not whole. Expressions of distress and dejection exist side-by-side with qualities of being well loved and having lived well. The sculptures exist on the lines between joy and sorrow, pride and humiliation, fear and security, hope and despair, and love and neglect. Ultimately, the animals function as representations of emotional states not fixed to time, place, or specific experiences.
The animals in my work are tender, innocent survivors of manipulation and alteration. They call out for attention from their disturbed and/or overly loved states. Qualities of distress, suffering, sorrow, despair, despondence, dejection, desperation, and anguish exist side-by-side with qualities of being well loved and having lived well. The animal figures represent the point where the innocent become the exploited, the controlled and, sometimes, the feared. They are at a place of no return, worn down and on the edge of existence. Through my work I aim to suggest that violence and vulnerability is not out in some far-off war zone, but rather at the very heart of our domestic lives’ chaos and disorder.
Ultimately, I use animals as stand-ins for people to examine the human condition. Our emotional lives are often hidden through layers of physical disguise, however the animals I create “wear” their experiences on the outside. Although they are mute, they convey various feelings through gesture and expression. The content of my sculptures comes out of personal experience, but the original narrative is not necessary. Emotional expression speaks for itself and does not need the details of a story to be felt. Through my work, I aim to bring emotion to the forefront of a conversation in order to more deeply connect with others.
Click here to read the General Artist Statement
