BA (Hons) Ceramics 2005 |
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Sam Bakewell Tel 07916 291898 |
To me, the full naked form has become desensitized and so by solely concentrating on the expressive capabilities of the feet to capture both ecstasy and agony I hope to regain some sense of the majesty that it deserves. The fact that we tend to only share our feet at times of comfort and intimacy is also obviously fundamental. By the process of life-casting a private moment can be captured and re-presented for public scrutiny. The glazes and slips used are chosen to echo the body's reactions at the times in question; be it a rash, sweat, blood or contradictorily the lack of life. Glaze placement around sensory, as well as pressure points hopefully creates a reaction of synaesthesia in the viewer. In particular both the Parian and the Terracotta casting slips have their own significance. Parian is a body created by the Staffordshire factories to replicate Greek marble. The idea of the mathematically based Grecian ideal figure is well known, and so by using a slip that represents all this in a new distorted form I hope to present a new ideal. Terracotta, apart from being a red grogged clay, was also the name given to any clay sculpture prior to casting by a fine artist. This is nearly always discarded as inferior to the final bronze, so by presenting a finished cast in this ware I hope to show the clay with as much reverence. "...Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much." (Luke 7:44-47 NIV). |
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Through this current body of work I am trying to provoke thought over the relationships and social taboos between the naked figure and its viewer. In particular the contradiction between the trust, vulnerability and sensitivity of the party baring all, and the voyeuristic/fetishistic nature created of its viewer when using a ceramic body with a penchant for shrinkage and warping. 
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