Porcelain

Earthenware, pig teeth, cat whiskers, velvet

Earthenware, pig teeth, cat whiskers, velvet

Earthenware, pig teeth, cat whiskers, velvet

My work explores relationships between body, mind, and spirit. A human being is comprised of many disparate, but interlocking components. The body itself consists of several separate systems that rely on each other to function. The nervous system, for instance, would not function without the circulatory system supplying it with blood cells. Bones will not move without the muscles. At the core of our body is the brain, which is a multi-faceted organ that relays and connects all of our systems to each other. However, the brain also contains the mind, and with it consciousness. Consciousness is instinctually linked with what most of us refer to as ‘spirit’, and within this spirit lies the identity or identities that define who we are.
When we break down the layers of an individual, the similarities become explicit, while the differences become more and more subjective. Essential identities such as gender are not always congruous with the obvious first-glance properties of a body. When these juxtapositions occur, it can lead to a broader examination of the varying aspects of humanity. Questions should be asked without the hope or expectation of any finite answers.
I have produced my work without any true pretense of how my audience should see it. Any physical imperfection in my sculpture is intentional, and I feel the expectation of perfection in human beings and in art are at best unrealistic. When I leave these imperfections in the clay body of my sculpture I want them to be seen, and I want them to be questioned by the viewer. What I am offering with this work is a stylized but also recognizable landscape from the external forms we have been given, to the layers we all have inside, until the pinnacle of our psyche that makes us an individual.