Body/Form

Body/Form #1, 2014.
Inkjet Print on Velin Museum Rag, 29.7cm x 42cm.

Body/Form #2, 2014.
Inkjet Print on Velin Museum Rag, 29.7cm x 42cm.

For dust you are, and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3:19)

Body/Form is a set of two diptychs that scrutinises the indeterminate binary between organic and inorganic, corporeal and sculptural, subject and object. In each diptych, a portrait (right) examines the sculptural qualities of the neck, from above the clavicle to the jaw line, while its pair (on the left) explores the corporeality of an asymmetrical ceramic vase (Mike Bush 2007). The relationship between each pair is one of form, of material qualities that are simultaneously organic and sculptural, with the neck and the vase mirroring and reflecting each other. This conceptual and methodological approach is inspired by Richard Avedon’s portrait of Marella Agnelli (1953): his use of light renders Agnelli’s body statuesque. Similarly, through attention to light and shadow, Mary Jane Ansell’s portrait Georgie (2011) elicits the sculptural form of neck musculature. In Body/Form, the vase assumes a bodily quality akin to the human neck, challenging its object-ness; and the human neck, sequestered from the body, takes a sculptural form that queries human subjecthood. The exclusion of identifying facial features – for example, eyes and mouth – are deliberate strategies both to de-subjectify the portrait and augment formal coherence.