Statement
The head is a framework to explore liberation and play through the sculptural process. The responsiveness of clay is a record of physical mark making- ranging from gentle modeling, to teasing squeezes and pokes, to violent destruction and aggression. Clay becomes the body, I communicate through touch. I organize and collage the fleshy twists of slumped clay, composing these gestural preservations into facial expressions. They exist as an illusion of being a raw, undulating mound of clay and a smirking face simultaneously.
Most recently, I have begun a series of larger than life size figures in cardboard, foam, and paper clay expressing the gestures and characters that one can transform into when dancing. They are powerful yet vulnerable, expressing fluid or awkward moments, entranced in their movement. Through dancing I am liberated from the weights of oppression and inequality in our society. By bringing this energy into my sculptural process, I aim to empower others and inspire release from oppressive forces.
— Corinne Beardsley