Katie Varey

My latest body of work initiates the complex properties of material in combination with the architectural structure of the human form. This is to create sculptures that relate to how the figure is depicted within twenty-first century society. By portraying the physical presence of the figure in the view of cultural acceptance, my sculpture is redefined and finds a new purpose, by the means of observation and reflection.

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Latex moulds

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This is an earlier piece of two moulds of  the waist, one without wearing a corset, the other with. I placed the latter inside the natural waist corset. Then joining the two with copper wire wherever the two pieces met. 

I decided to have a experiment with displaying the piece not on a plinth (the usual place for a sculpture) but on a wall. Where the two corsets meet (depicted with copper wire) I used lengths of copper wire to mount the piece to the wall.I pulled the wire as tight as I could so it felt as though they were going to snap under the strain. 

Again the strain and pressure on the wire reflected the ties of society, pulling, twisting and deforming the body as it did with the sculpture.

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Details of the wax moulds with ribbon - the ribbon is keeping the arches intact even whilst the shape is being chiselled away. What I like about the wax is it breaks easier than the plaster, corresponding to the natural body more, as if enough pressure is exerted, the body breaks too with only thin tendrils and ligaments keeping it together.

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Experimentation with ribbon and plaster. 

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third degree show piece

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My degree show space, it is larger than I requested however I believe this will give me more room to develop curation, even at this late stage.

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Thinking of the 'why' is always more difficult than explaining the 'how'.

Katie Varey

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DEGREE SHOW

The BA HONS Contemporary Fine Art Practice Degree Show, Opens 6/6/2014 at 6pm at Hull School of Art and Design.

All are welcome.

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I used to think that I could never lose anyone if I photographed them enough. In fact, my pictures show me how much I’ve lost.

Nan Goldin (via free-parking)

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Once the plaster had set within the shoe, I tried to retrive it, however in this case, the right court shoe actually snapped along with the plaster interior. At first I thought it was useless, however when I cleaned up the plaster, smoothing it, it reminded me of the resin blocks found in pointe ballet shoes. Also the exaggerated and broken arch of the foot connected perfectly to the ideas of foot binding.

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For my research I looked into other cultures and their traditions for beauty. After researching tight-lacing and exploring western societies views on beauty I wanted to look more in depth into other forms of binding of the body. One that really inspired me to look further into binding was the Golden Lotus Foot (Chinese foot binding). After watching documentaries on YouTube I began looking into how the beautiful silks and fabrics looked outside of that culture. It led me to look into ballet. There were instant similarities, such as the silks, the wrapping styles, the bound feet for support and structure. And coincidentally, it is almost as damaging as lotus foot and externally, it appears to be beautiful, an art of sorts. Ballet: the beauty of performance and translation of narrative into an act, practiced for centuries.

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Casting with shoes

Carrying on with the casting idea inspired from the foot binding and ballet research, I have started using recycled shoes and creating a mold of the negative cavity of the interior. Whilst still wet, ribbons have been embedded to link to the research and also to keep the shoes together as a pair. The shoe size does in fact matter at this point in development as I thought that the smaller the shoe, the more it related to the idea of foot binding - the young age at which the female feet are broken and bound. 

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I will not apologise for art.

Jason Steele

Creator of Llama's with hats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-vsynsE8RQ

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Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

Earnest Hemingway

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I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.

Vincent van Gogh

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Creativity is intelligence having fun.

Albert Einstein

[everyday-isslike-sunday]

I think too much. I think ahead. I think behind. I think sideways. I think it all. If it exists, I’ve fucking thought of it.

Winona Ryder (via omariospizza)