James Kemp

I think of my sculptures as something between both body and object. They are contrasting surfaces and forms negotiating their unity through different situations. My studio practice is forged from the destabilization of dichotomies between the ephemeral and fixed. My work is impart a study of society’s structures of rules and conventions to transform what is primitive and natural in response (the emotive and intuitive part of our being), into a rationalised contrived collective ethos; an ethos that holds idealized concepts of progress.

I often work with clay and found objects. As I manipulate the clay’s surface, I think of myself as a set designer costume designer and a director; the clay is my lead performer. Sometimes it does its own thing, but then I role with it and tweak the scene. Found objects and materials seem to construct themselves in a supporting composition simultaneously; as the actor rehearses, the stage arises underneath.