Ginger Markley
Artist Statement
The sculptures I create are slightly creepy, surreal, and cartoonish human-animals placed in odd, poetic landscapes.
They are beloved characters from a long forgotten fairy tale.
They are immortal but unknown deities.
They are subtly dangerous beings from an alien planet.
They are magical creatures who live in uncharted waters.
Composed of the intoxicating mystery rejected by our modern world, these sculptures have the soft strangeness of coral, and the wild intelligence of living roots. They are my response to the rational, scientific, and technological. I want the supernatural and the fantastic to interact with my world. I dream of a world where myths become reality. I want to invite the viewer to my strange place, where technology and science are present, but not master.
Much of my ceramic sculpture involves human-like faces on plants or animal bodies. Often there is a clear delineation where the face begins—a line or color change. Over time, this has evolved into the idea of a costume or shell. The unknown, the mysterious, and the uneasily perceived have always fascinated me. This costume hints at the secret inside the mystery.
The use of ceramic material suggests the passage of time. Although there is the sense of being an artifact of an ancient culture, the form adds a contemporary element. My interests are clearly reflected in the work: Pop-surrealism and graffiti art, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films, eclectic and experimental music, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, and internet culture.
Recently, I've started showing my works and have been able to witness reactions and receive feedback. I am interested in the second life of art, the act of viewing, where the work returns to life, to serve man, and to say something for him. My future endeavors will be planned for circulation, existing for another. Presentation (communication with the viewer) has become important to me, and I have made forays into installation work. Installation allows me to carry on a full conversation with the viewer, and is far more powerful than my individual works. I have found that a simple dirt landscape will dramatically change context for the viewer, allowing them to suspend their disbelief and enter my world. It takes them out of the gallery and allows the sculpture to come alive. I provide the backdrop and the actors, and the viewer completes the work with their narrative. It changes the sculptures from being static objects, to participants in multiple stories. I would like to further hone the use of installation as I think this is an effective way to interact with the audience.
The coil method of building is partially left on the surface. This texture can be likened to growth rings on a tree or the structure of coral. Clay appeals to me as an honest material. Clay not only reveals impressions of the hand, it records the thoughts and emotions of the artist. I learned my coil technique from artist Gene Pearson. He was taught this technique in Jamaica and calls it the “dance around method”. With strength and mastery, this method can permit very large but light works to be built in a short amount of time. I use an adapted form of the “dance around method” in almost all of my work today. I often leave large portions of the clay surface bare, and my color palette is fairly subdued. Looking closely, subtle contradictions can be found in my work. My sculptural forms are natural yet strange--balanced, but not symmetrical. The forms are tranquil, yet it is most important to me that they become alive.
Ceramic Process
Here's a brief description of the ceramic process.