Phylum Phantasma

Author/Artist Name

Hannah RobardsFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 4-26-2024

Artist Statement

In my work, I explore how comfort can be found in discomfort and harrowing situations and how we seek shelter in the world around us. My art takes the form of a ceramic world that is devoid of human life and explores the habitats of various unique creatures and species. My work evokes the feeling of searching for a sense of belonging and how this search can be a complicated one, filled with a variety of different relationships, including beneficial, parasitical, and more. These relationships are present in my ceramic creatures and exemplify the complexity of interaction within our species.

I utilize blistered and gooey textures along with biomorphic forms in order to push my idea of eccentric creatures residing in another world. The incorporation of fiber elements evokes moss, mold or ground and helps define and deepen the environments the creatures inhabit. My work allows the viewers to immerse themselves in this other-worldy environment and possibly find themselves relating to the creatures and the relationships they are involved in. I hope the viewers will come away with a feeling of intrigue in the world around them and an appreciation for the people and relationships they find comfort in.

Cynthia Consentino and Kathy Ruttenberg are two contemporary artists whose work is influential to my own. Consentino’s work focuses on manipulating familiar objects in life, molding them into a completely new set of imagery that sheds light on humanity and identity and how these relate to animalistic/natural ideals. Her work is inspired by mythology, religious imagery, and fairy tales.. Ruttenberg is also primarily a ceramicist but works in other media such as painting and animation. Her works focus on telling a story using humanoid mythical creatures that invoke a sense of wariness in the viewer. A lot of her works feature crossovers between human and animals/natural elements, which is a theme I explore in my own art.

Advisor/Mentor

John Utgaard; Sarah Martin; Jeanne Beaver; T Mike Martin

Description

An otherworldly sculptural ceramic exhibition that addresses how comfort can be found in discomfort and how shelter is sought out. The habitats of various species and unique organisms are explored in this exhibit in order to showcase the feeling of this search for belonging and the complexity that is paired with it. This complexity is shown through relationships commonly seen in the natural world, such as parasitism, symbiosis, and others. This exhibit also incorporates soft wool fibers in order to encapsulate the organisms in the fantastical environment that is present. The goal of this exhibition is for the viewers to feel as though there is a piece of them in each one of these creatures and for them to find an odd sense of comfort in discovering that they can relate to the organisms.

Photo Credit

Hannah Robards, 2024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Robards, Hannah, "Phylum Phantasma" (2024). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 135.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/135