Lucy often complements monumental structures with delicate creations, showcasing her knowledge of materials, craftmanship and attention to detail. She has studied metal sculpture and though she truly enjoys working with metal, she found it limiting to observe the topics she is interested in, hence her work also integrates other materials and techniques such as embroidery, sewing, drawing and painting.
Lucy’s main interest lays in border areas of bodies. She views these zones as a representation of a second or a third layer of the skin. As an example, she points out how attached we are to the clothes we wear. We treat it as another part of ourselves in terms of self-expression, as well as our cultural influences. Lucy explores these regions as she sees it as a very sensitive and an important area, where interchange between an individual and the society happens. She remarks that the layers and borders somehow define and protect us, but also separate us from the rest of the world
photos by PILOTENKUECHE International Art Program
When asked how she developed a deepened interest in the subject, she refers to the time spent studying in Istanbul. Lucy remembers not feeling particularly safe as a woman commuting during late hours. She recalls her domicile having protective bars in front of the windows. There was another set of bars in front of her terrace and an additional set between her and her neighbours. Then there was, yet another barrier enclosing the residence and its garden. She contemplates; “Being home and safe, being outside and being unsafe. Being home and wanting to be outside, but feeling safe and still having your own space.”
This led to her creating wearable pieces such as a whimsical jumpsuit made of bubble wrap. A piece that allows one to stay safe and meet their social needs. She laughs:” ..leave the comfort zone! You need to be alone sometimes; have no friends. It is necessary to get a character!”
Currently Lucy has begun to reflect on domiciles as bodies of a collective and the history they carry. She investigates border areas, but in a bigger scale, outlining the importance of biographies inserted within the habitat. She says: ”When we live somewhere, we put our own experiences and traces into the building. And the building and its architecture influences us and how we move and feel.” By playing with form and volume, she observes connection between the tenant, the embedded history and the architecture. Lucy is exploring the means to portray this relationship and to showcase the 2-way interaction she creates sculptural work that simultaneously outlines and references the initial object and exists independently. These art pieces are predominantly new objects, yet also a poetic reflection and a remembering of the archetype.
The work for the first PK exhibition, Reset unsettling flesh layers, is cross stitch on silicon and is suspended with metal rods. At first glance, it appears to be one tone. Closer examination reveals more than 28. When creating a painting, flesh is rarely a solid, but more a series of similar hues. Lucy has managed to represent skin and all it’s complexities, while at the same time highlighting its seeming simplicity.
More information about her practice can be found on Lucy’s website and Instagram.
Reset unsettling flesh layers / vernissage / PK at AHS
Friday, 15. November 2019
19:00 bis 22:00
Alte Handelsschule, Gießerstraße 75, Kleinzschocher, 04229 Leipzig, Deutschland
Overwhelmed incorporeal happiness / vernissage / PK RD41
Saturday, 14. December 2019
19:00 – 22:00
PILOTENKEUCHE, Franz-Flemming-Straße 9, 04179 Leipzig