Terracotta, paint

60 x 28 x 28 cm

These sculptures are part of a series called ‘Virtual Portraits’, based on life-size portrait busts of friends and models with the aim of producing a large number of sculptures modelled from ordinary people with a wide range of racial, gender and age differences. To research this project I have studied historical precedents including; Egyptian, Greek, Indian, East Asian, Roman and more contemporary examples. Reference to such variations are used when appropriate, e.g. in the way that the torso is truncated, the visibility of the modelling technique, the use of colour, and including impressed patterns, drawings or texts.

Being hollow built the sculptures have immediate associations with the shapes of ceramic vessels, an aspect enhanced by the medium of terracotta, which along with the floral decoration suggest they may be well-sited in intimate garden environments or sheltered indoors. Since they are unglazed terracotta sometimes painted, with clear seal and wax finish, they are not suitable for full exposure to the elements.