ARTIST STATEMENT

Material inquiry is critical within my practice to create sculptures which represent myself, whether that is a depiction or an imprint of my body onto a material. My work originated in an interest of feminism and the representation of the female form within art and has since evolved into a closer look at the self and how I can represent myself through an abstract depiction of the body. I am intrigued by my challenges following a diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis and what this means for me, both physically and emotionally. My practice focusses on both myself as well as the relationship my viewers have with their own bodies, it asks for the audiences connections to the work. Currently, metal is a material which fascinates me the most, the connotations the material holds with masculinity has been a topic of curiosity throughout my use of the material and how I deal with breaking historical stereotypes within my practice. I use ceramics as a way to leave a body mark through the squeezing, clenching and grasping of the clay between my hands as a reminder of the presence of my body.

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Using metal and ceramics allows me to work with a vast amount of processes, metalwork forces be to be harsh and brutal with the material to bend it, weld it and grind it into shape, compared to the softness of the clay and the squeezing, holding and pressing of the material. This juxtaposition between the two materials plays with the idea of hard and soft and light and heavy. My bodies limitations have the same struggles, between the hard and the soft, difficult and easy and light and heavy, how the body feels physically and the challenges I face everyday.