Labour: Release/Suspension
2011 - 13
Steel, plaster, expanding foam, rope, resin, enamel, Various sizes.
The Labour: Release/Suspension series constituted the first three-dimensional works to come out of the uckiood studio. Pieces from the series were shown in New York City (NY) in 2012; Brussels, Belgium in 2014; Seattle (WA) in 2014 and 2017, and Black Rock City (NV) in 2012.
Challenging and divisive from the outset - uckiood received immediate online and in-person abuse/threats on the back of the group’s exhibition - this collection of sculptures explore notions of identity and social expectation. Anger and frustration at modern society's tendency to engage with the superficial as opposed to the real internal self is articulated through the mute screams, the raw facial expressions and ruptured bodies. Fetal forms gasp for air and writhe in discomfort, struggling to break free from their bonds. Fusing traditional and modern sculptural methods with emotive and provocative subject matter, these pieces opens up a highly personal space wherein universal feelings of social restraint, self-loathing, despair and hope are laid bare.