Ellen Jewett’s surreal sculptures of symbiotic animals are a testament to the artist’s unique ability to blend the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Using a variety of materials, including cold porcelain, polymer clay, and other mediums, Jewett creates enchanting creatures that seem to come alive from the pages of a dream. Each sculpture presents a fascinating combination of animals from different kingdoms and habitats, inviting the viewer to explore the intricate relationships between species.
Jewett’s work is not just a visual feast but also a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as domestication and domination. Upon closer inspection, the viewer may discover a deeper narrative woven into each sculpture, reflecting the artist’s fascination with the natural world and the complex relationships between humans and the environment.
Plants and animals have always been the surface on which humans have etched the foundations of culture, sustenance, and identity. For myself, natural forms are a continual source of fascination and deep aesthetic pleasure. At first glance, my work explores the more modern prosaic concept of nature: a source of serene nostalgia but this is balanced with the more visceral experience of ‘wildness’ as remarkably alien and indifferent. Upon closer inspection of each ‘creature’, the viewer may discover a frieze on which themes as familiar as domestication and as abrasive as domination fall into sharp relief.
Ellen Jewett
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