Cindy Sherman Power point

Artist statement DRAFT

In my work I am interested in the relationship between humans and nature, and how that, in the end, we are a part of nature and one day it will claim us back.

The piece consists of a series of 3?  Small sculptures. The first of which is a decomposing skeleton being taken back into the earth. The second, a pair of human lungs with a rib cage of branches and flowers, and the third, a human hand hanging from branched and being engulfed by vines. The process of making these sculptures included foraging dead twigs and fallen stones and other natural materials, sculpting the ‘human’ parts of the sculpture out of air drying clay, painting them, taking them into a natural environment and photographing them.   

I my work I am interested in the relationship between humans and nature, and how that, in the end, we are a part of nature and one day it will claim us back.

The piece consists of a series of 3?  Small sculptures. The first of which is a decomposing skeleton being taken back into the earth. The second, a pair of human lungs with a rib cage of branches and flowers, and the third, a human hand hanging from branched and being engulfed by vines. The process of making these sculptures included foraging dead twigs and fallen stones and other natural materials, sculpting the ‘human’ parts of the sculpture out of air drying clay, painting them, taking them into a natural environment and photographing them.  

I intended to make just one sculpture, but in making the first one, I felt like to develop the work further, there needed to be a small body of work. Also, my concept is all about the power of nature, and to have multiple sculptures in all three galleries will portray the ‘take over’ of nature a lot better than if there was only one.

My work is vastly influenced by the land art of Ana Mendieta. The way she combines nature and the human body intrigues me a lot, is it a juxtaposition, is it the opposite? Humans have set themselves apart from nature, but why? Her work sparked many questions and ideas of my own. I find her work to be both meaningful and beautiful which I think a lot of art lacks. Her work is also only accessible through documentation which I find interesting. I was playing around with this idea myself, (taking picture of my sculptures in natural places), and just displaying the photographs. But in the end, I decided that the sculptures occupying a space would get my powerful nature message across more dramatically.

I tried to use equal parts bought materials, and found natural materials. Combining the human and natural elements in a both physical and metaphorical sense. I wanted my sculptures to have a gritty earthy feel. I did this through the brown/green colour scheme and use of dirt and stones.

Thinking about curation

I’ve been playing around with ideas about how to display my sculpture. My first one being having a tree stump as a plinth, and putting the photos just above. But obviously getting a tree stump is hard. I could look into making one.This one I thought could just be in the middle of the exhibition on the floor, with a spotlight on it. (I probably won’t do this one).

This last one is looking like the most likely to succeed. I would gather dirt and mud and such and make a little scene in the corner. Making a natural environment for my sculpture.
If I decide that the sculpture doesn’t need to be displayed with the photos, then I will display the photos on their own.