Wendy Mike - Sculptures

The Art of the Dress 10/24

I am besotted with love for the human form, specifically emanations of the figure in motion. My attempt is to create and portray a kind of gestural language: a vocabulary of postures. Necessity and intent cause me to seek out and perfect the use of non-traditional, low-tech materials. Natural fabrics, such as silk, cotton and linin I find mostly in thrift stores. Fabric has been used to protect and embellish the body for millennium, achieving its expressive apex in women’s clothing: the dress The form and medium references the female; the work is inherently feminist. I begin by sculpting an anatomically detailed figure for use as a model on which to cast the fabric. When complete, the sculpture is less about the dress and more about the body it describes. With the body absent, the essence of the physical form, the “spirit’ of the individual is present, yet free of “identity.” Beauty is cherished and consciously coaxed from every sculpture I make. Just as it is impossible to throw back one’s head with chest and arms open to the sky and simultaneously experience depression, beauty works irresistibly on the soul.

 Wendy Mike