the wildness within...
When I was young I worried about all kinds of things - spots, the size of my arse, alien abduction, the whales, and holes in the ozone layer to name but a few.
But luckily for us all I didn't express my conerns in an artsitic way.
Happily there are other deeply concerned and creative souls out there in our big bad world to do that.
One such soul is Oakland-based artist Crystal Morey who is deeply passionate about the earth and the effect we as humans are having on it.
Her ceramic sculptures speak to us about the impact of globalization and urbanization.
As we humans increasingly encroach, intrude or even destroy animal habitats, more and more creatures have been placed on the threatened or endangered list. Crystal creates human-animal hybrid sculptures that silently contemplate the world and the possible the unknown future ...
Crystal uses her work to bring attention to causes she feels passionate about such as climate change, de-forestation, ocean acidity, and the hunting of animals through her ceramic art...
For an artist dealing with such weighty matters she looks like a very happy person.
She explains her work saying - "In my most recent work I am using clay to build figurative sculptures of humans encased in animals. I use delicate and emotive gesture, rich texture, and subdued, sepia tones to create telling, intimate objects that capture current psychological, environmental, and cultural feelings. The figures are contemplative and inward thinking, seeing a future outcome that is uncertain. The animals I use are either extinct or have become endangered due to human impact in this era of “great acceleration” since the Industrial Revolution. The concepts behind the work are about our contemporary environmental issues while the visual structure pursues a totemic feel. I am looking at visual material including Native American ceremonial masks and regalia, Byzantine and Renaissance devotional painting, secular portraits and altarpieces, and Egyptian antiquities.
I am interested in how human advancements in technology, agriculture, and urbanization have imposed stress on natural ecosystems and the species that live within them. Through my sculptures I try to humanize these ideas and present them in a way that is accessible, interesting, and conversation provoking. I hope that the viewer comes away from my work thinking and asking questions about our role as humans on the earth and our relationship to other living beings. I hope to raise awareness of these urgent issues while also showing our humanity, ingenuity, and ability to be flexible and innovate as species"
Queen Marie
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