Frenetica

Philadelphia Hanson-Viney

Artist Statement

I am often inspired by the weird, the grotesque and the wrong. I love things which are beautiful and horrible and bizarre at the same time.

I am fascinated by bones for their delicate and intricate shapes as well as for what they represent as relics of life past; they can be a strong symbol of death and yet exist as an object with a beautiful form.

I am inspired by the small objects that are left behind, things that are lost and weathered and buried. There is something significant about holding an object with a history behind it and I love this feeling of holding the weight of the things the object has seen.

With my sculptural ceramic work I have been studying shapes that I have previously explored through drawing. I have worked to create pieces that reflect, through their forms and surfaces, the graceful shapes of bones and the feeling of holding something ancient. I have spent a lot of time finding ways to create texture in my work that evokes the way bones crack and crumble as they decay. Most of my pieces are painted with iron oxide to bring out their texture and highlighted with matte glaze.