2020 Pandemic Series
Hypoxic
H17cm L21cm D17cm
Ceramic hand built sculpture.
Selected for the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts 139th Annual Exhibition 20/21.
This piece is a part of my 2020 Pandemic series. A series of work produced during lockdown. I worked in response to the effects of the pandemic on society, mental health, its victims and its fighters.
Hypoxia is a condition where not enough oxygen reaches the bodies tissues. The tissues are starved of oxygen and begin to die. My piece ‘Hypoxic’ represents my understanding of tissue decay and in a sense is like an alien organism dying off but with an essence of new life or form being born from that death.
The transformation is directional.
I have played about with new textures. The carving of textures in the tail of the piece took a long time. Whilst i chipped away at this piece I thought deeply about the positive and negative effects this pandemic was having on the world. The world was changing as it always does, but more dramatically with many changes irreversible.
‘Hypoxic’ captures the bleakness of death and decay through its textured tail, but fights back with strong form and smooth head. The head is at an angle higher than the tail, its direction is onward and upwards. The tail has 3 thin structures that connect it to the head and protect the spikes. This suggests the death and decay isn’t ready to detach it self from the host.
This piece is a metaphor for my understanding of how this pandemic is affecting our world. Our world is perishing at the hands of an unknown virus. Until the world finds a way to control or eradicate it , the virus will cling on to it. It will continue to dramatically transform our world until a new one is born.
The rounded head is white crackle glazed, with a spongy texture and a deep earthy coloured centre. This is starkly contrasted with the rough oxide textured tail. The head when viewed from a certain angle disguises the tail. It gives a sense of strength and hope.
TROPISM
1 Piece 2 parts
H16cm L22cm D16cm + 7x7x7cm
Ceramic hand built sculpture.
This piece is a part of my 2020 Pandemic series. A series of work produced during lockdown. I worked in response to the effects of the pandemic on society, mental health, its victims and its fighters.
Tropism is ’The turning of all or part of an organism in a particular direction in response to an external stimulus.’ In virology this also means ‘The specificity of a virus for a particular host tissue, determined in part by the interaction of viral surface structures with receptors present on the surface of the host cell.’
The 2 part piece ‘Tropism’ represents the virus (the small rounded sculpture) attacking the host (the larger sculpture). Depending on how the piece is displayed the virus is either attacking or being destroyed by the host.
The small sculpture has an opening and spikes that have a sinister feel and appear reading to latch onto the host. The glaze on the external surface matches the tip of the host suggesting a process of attachment or detachment. The surface of the larger piece is smooth and intact. It isn’t decaying like ‘Hypoxic’. It is at a different stage of interaction with the virus.
‘Tropism’ can be displayed more than one way and is a metaphor for how everyone’s relationship with the virus will be different, dependant on personal circumstances. Some of us will be exposed and at more risk than others.
Apoptosis
H17cm W14cm D14cm
Handmade ceramic sculpture.
This piece is a part of my 2020 Pandemic series. A series of work produced during lockdown. I worked in response to the effects of the pandemic on society, mental health, its victims and its fighters.
'Apoptosis' represents through clay, the death of a cell. The direction of the applied spiky texture is suggestive of an organism destroying itself. The process of self-destruction is evident in all areas of nature. From immunology to black holes. Societies to mental health. Destruction and death often make room for the new and force change.
This pandemic we live in, is in a sense nature’s way towards drastic change. I felt it appropriate to create a series of sculptures in light of this, of which 'Apoptosis' was born from. The tilted axis allows for slight movement which amplifies the directional spikes. The protruding centre can be perceived as being enveloped and defeated or as something new being born out of the destruction.
The crackle glaze can be interpreted as the veins, or neuropathways of a living organism.
Ultimately the form and texture of the sculpture encourage a multifaceted interpretation and can be understood at various levels depending on the viewer.
