I find my inspiration in the infinite variety of the human form. Whether it is through the media of drawing, photography or casting the physical qualities of the body are always the first subject for me to explore.
Focusing on the material aspects of the human torso and its potential interaction; particularly the folding of flesh and the way fingers sink into a heavy body mass, I have used white stoneware like a surrogate skin. I explore the physicality of this representation through touching, squeezing, scratching and stroking; leaving subtle, human textures in the clay surface and then exaggerating them by showing them through the thick slumped glass.
Over a period of three years I found myself increasingly working with life models who did not fulfil the stereotype of 'the perfect body'. This led to a body of work highlighting the bodily extremes of obese and anorexic in current popular culture. My work has further developed and now I design specifically for gallery display. I aim for the viewer to question their interpretations of beauty, both in the world of the 'personal' and in the world of 'craft', by confronting them with the aesthetic clarity of ceramic and glass depicting a subject that is considered to be 'imperfect'.
Emily Barber