Process
All my sculptures are built hollow, using a mix of coil-building and pinching. I sort out ideas for sculptures through sketching and maquettes, but the building process is very organic. Although I have several ideas in mind when I start a sculpture, the way the clay responds determines the outcome of a piece.
I aim to capture a dirty liveliness in the colouring of my sculptures. I keep the colouration simple to draw attention to the forms and to the faces in particular. For the skin of my figures, I apply stains and engobe to achieve a flesh tone with a rough texture. Although I want the bodies to be visually stimulating, the stripes and colours used are meant to be secondary to the colour and texture of the faces. The surface decoration on my sculptures often echoes the feeling of confinement, while at other times adds an element of playfulness in contrast to the heavy mood.