SCULPTURAL PRACTICE FIRST ACT

From 2017

My sculptures aspire to analyse the inescapable human condition in which every single individual is perpetually subjugated to the (O)other through a psychoanalytical and philosophical lens. Porcelain is the perfect medium for representing the bodies in my concept. Its delicacy superbly resembles the skin’s features; in respect to this similitude, the sculptures are fired only once in pursuance to preserve the paleness of an identity-less flesh. No glazing technique is used as the velvety flesh skin is wanted to be exposed to external instances that progressively stain it, inducing the candour to become filthy. There is an idea of organicity, of living, in the innards of the modelled shape. Once fired, the sculptures can be considered finite objects, but with clearer insight, they are only at the outset of a more profound process. Thus, they must be regarded as fragments of a broader structure. Through 3D scanning, every piece is relocated into a digital space in which the software’s algorithms intervene in the process by reconstructing and conferring a different form while maintaining the overall shape intact. The result is a superstructure obtained by merging each unique system, thus devising a whole new single object. The 3D printing, the last stage, intends to restore the materiality as the sculpture cannot be preserved in the digital space once the machine’s manipulation occurs; it is a conceptual requirement that always implies a progression, a metamorphosis. It is required to re-establish the object in the organic space. The viewer is brought to reflect upon the intricate mass of bodies and the implicit loss of individuality that every single sculpture merged has suffered. The continuous transformation process has to be considered an integral part of the artwork located on the tension line that divides “What is innate” and “What is constructed”, aiming to destabilise the viewer. Carefully handmade, each piece is fired at a maximum temperature of 900C° to ensure the semi-porosity of the surface. The emulated skin-like texture confers the organicity to the sculptures that as membranes absorb and halt substances from the environment in which they are placed. Since living pieces, every angle in which they are positioned discloses distinct visual experiences leading to unique understandings.