| ARTIST STATEMENT . CARA LONG . |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
I strive to present complex and elusive narratives through the combination of
drawn imagery and the ceramic medium. Translucent porcelain is more than a mere
canvas, it offers me the opportunity for exploration with its fragility and luminosity.
Within my series of translucent porcelain installations images of docile female figures
restrained within bleak, potentially perilous environments are illustrated upon a backdrop
of delicately glowing porcelain. Depicting the supple women suspended within stark
settings, wearing only false appendages and striped hosiery, presents an image of fragile
femininity.
A discomfort with personal abnormalities and perceived expectations of female
beauty and symmetry impact my work. By playing with the proportions and balance of the
female form I use my own body and image as subject. With limbs bound and prodded,
the character’s energy is depleted as she lingers in constricting poses; condemned to an
eternal state of paralysis. In depicting this timeless dimension, I am free to continually
examine the significance of the relationship between my own image and the spectator’s
stare.
The figures, painted on thin panels of translucent porcelain and then back-lit to give
a subtle glowing effect, evoke sentiments of exposure and isolation. The presentation of
the porcelain panels, poised delicately in front of their light source and attached to the
wall with thin metal rods, further emphasizes the precarious positions depicted in the
imagery. As small-scale installations, the exhibition space is transformed by the
luminosity of the backlit porcelain’s faint amber hues, and the weight of the emotionally
disparate imagery. The distinctive imagery overlaid on the delicately illuminated surface
creates an alluring and intimate experience in the gallery.
drawn imagery and the ceramic medium. Translucent porcelain is more than a mere
canvas, it offers me the opportunity for exploration with its fragility and luminosity.
Within my series of translucent porcelain installations images of docile female figures
restrained within bleak, potentially perilous environments are illustrated upon a backdrop
of delicately glowing porcelain. Depicting the supple women suspended within stark
settings, wearing only false appendages and striped hosiery, presents an image of fragile
femininity.
A discomfort with personal abnormalities and perceived expectations of female
beauty and symmetry impact my work. By playing with the proportions and balance of the
female form I use my own body and image as subject. With limbs bound and prodded,
the character’s energy is depleted as she lingers in constricting poses; condemned to an
eternal state of paralysis. In depicting this timeless dimension, I am free to continually
examine the significance of the relationship between my own image and the spectator’s
stare.
The figures, painted on thin panels of translucent porcelain and then back-lit to give
a subtle glowing effect, evoke sentiments of exposure and isolation. The presentation of
the porcelain panels, poised delicately in front of their light source and attached to the
wall with thin metal rods, further emphasizes the precarious positions depicted in the
imagery. As small-scale installations, the exhibition space is transformed by the
luminosity of the backlit porcelain’s faint amber hues, and the weight of the emotionally
disparate imagery. The distinctive imagery overlaid on the delicately illuminated surface
creates an alluring and intimate experience in the gallery.
| copyright cara long, 2006-2010. all rights reserved. |