I came across Kate MacDowell‘s work quite a few weeks ago now, I knew I was going to post it as soon as I saw it, but I’ve had to wait to let it really sink in. It’s been a long time since I came across a new artist who’s work left me so speechless like this. So many things I wanted to say about the pieces but my all my brain could think was ‘woooah’, hopefully it’s caught up again now!
Anatomy & nature are two of my favourite subjects & so it will be of no surprise to those of you who already knew so, that these pieces would make my heart skip. The way she manages to combine the two so perfectly, harmoniously even, is just beautiful.
Each piece is hand sculpted out of ghostly white porcelain, giving what would usually be a very dark, disturbing subject matter a real sense of purity & elegance, inviting those who would usually quickly look away to look a little closer and for a little longer. The aspect I find most striking though, is the feeling of fragility the porcelain gives the pieces, it makes for a beautiful statement on how delicate the balance is between us & nature. The small decaying animals which reveal a human skeleton underneath further illustrate this message, ‘what we do to our world, we do to ourselves’.
“I see each piece as a captured and preserved specimen, a painstaking record of endangered natural forms and a commentary on our own culpability.” – Kate MacDowell
