Exquisite Corpse Series
Exquisite Corpse is a series of small figures that I began in 2006. These pieces continue to explore gender and social roles, but in a more playful way. I am interested in the idea that we all adapt to our surroundings. We try on roles and constantly incorporate or discard them. Exquisite Corpse series searches out influences in the hope of coming to some understanding of human nature. It jumbles and reconfigures elements from the domestic and animal worlds, exploring assumptions and stereotypes.
The Exquisite Corpse figurines are slip cast from molds taken from both figures I have sculpted and objects I have collected. The figures are divided into a head, middle, and bottom and cast many times. Each part can be used in many different combinations.
Content has initiated most of my work in the past, but with this series, I am able to allow the form of each part and the act of assembling these dictate the content that the piece will inevitably present. This is a non-linear kind of brainstorming, much like the surrealist exercises which allowed chance and intuition to influence the artistic process.