Kaitlyn Coppola
Untitled, 2012, Unfired clay
Untitled, 2012, Unfired clay
Aritst Statement
This body of work draws heavily on the idea "the meek shall inherit the earth." The unfired clay creatures are necessarily vulnerable, ephemeral, and deeply ingrained with the potential for change. Built in dense groupings and writhing masses, communities and architecture are constructed out of their very bodies. The work is a reaction to the perceived disinterested selfishness of contemporary urban life. This army of the meek encounter situations in which they are incapable of resolving or changing conflict. The cretures connect in a way that is joyous, exuberant, and raucous, while at the same time exhibiting a grotesque futility to act. Clay is handled in a way that is bodily, urgent, and visceral, implicating the human hand in the scenario. The forms perch precariously between two outcomes, destruction or salvation. Failure is a given without the intervention of the collective potential for empathy and connection.
More information available at kaitlyncoppola.com