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ceramic sculpture, 2004-2006
The natural serenity and layered decay of the neighborhoods of New Orleans and the swamps of Louisiana infiltrate this work. View it and consider the abiogenesis ( origin of life) theory regarding how life on Earth could have arisen from inanimate matter. I liken the processes in ceramic work to the phases of the physical & spiritual life cycle; seemingly invisible cells and particles join to form organisms, which are in turn molded and changed by the environment.
I created human figures in clay to explore personal/spiritual and scientific/religious notions. I was struggling with issues of loss, abandonment and general confusion about becoming an adult (I was 21, afterall). These issues had driven me into a strange depression that I could pretty much only deal with through artistic production. Losing myself in these ‘people’, these physical manifestations of my problems, somehow helped move me through the issues. It wasn’t until years later that I actually came to peace with these demons.
This work also makes me think of the ”clay-life theory,” first proposed in the 1960′s by chemist Graham Cairns-Smith, which challenges the long-favored notion that life emerged from the primordial oceans after millions of years of chemical reactions between simple organic molecules. This particular theory is reminiscent of the biblical account of creation which says, “the Lord God formed man of dust of the ground,” and refers to it commonly as clay.
