Work
Fox Jensen Gallery - 2011
I approach the figure confident that I know something of its form and yet every time I begin to make a piece I am surprised at both its universality and its particularity. The personal narratives are stories that are in my head but ultimately I am ambushed by the process, the feel and the touch required in the making – the materials and the time.
As much as I am aware of Nellies gentle beauty I want very much to investigate the breadth and idiosyncrasy of the body, both male and female and I try and approach both genders with a neutrality – or at least remain sensitive to the subtleties of form and movement that describe and define the figure. Working with the naked body seems to most authentic, natural way to approach figurative sculpture for me. The honesty and the intimacy that is demanded by the process is a privilege to be part of. The time with the model though is relatively brief – it involves drawing and initial phases of building the form but at some point in the process it becomes critical to shift my focus well away from reproducing what is in front of me and move it towards a more hermetic sculptural process. Personality and narrative – depiction of the figure diminish as I try and get closer to a more meaningful object.
My other life as a hunter is in many ways completely contrasting which is something I relish a great deal. Im not sure that I set out to learn about anatomy in this way but clearly it has taught me a great deal. It removes the sense of abstraction that many have for meat – its inert packaging. It doesn’t obviously bring me closer to vegetarianism but it does put some reality into the choice.
