SCULPTURE

The notion of similarities existing between humans and ocean life came to me during my first underwater diving experience. For the first time I saw the surface as a gateway between two worlds.

As surrealism has a very important influence on my sculpture, I also saw this surface as a border between the conscious and the sub-conscious. The aquatic life below could only be experienced for a brief time, similar to the time spent whilst dreaming.

These human figures morph into shapes symbolic of the spaces they occupy. The heads become compositions of dreamlike representations, supported by the figures in motion.

I create my sculptures from found objects that I manipulate to serves as "heads". Oversized fingers, pipes and satellite dish-like shapes are all translated into representations of the human sub-consciousness. The everpresent shark aligns itself to the figures as a constant reminder of the very things we are haunted and hunted by.

Some of the pieces have aspects used in sewing, evocative of a vulnerability and protectiveness towards the human condition.

The figures in this series are a testimony to the duality within ourselves: the human body juxtapositioned against the vast complexities harbored in the mind.

M.J. Lourens

Cape Town 2011

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SCULPTURE

Bronze sculptures