Kate Dorrough

ARTIST STATEMENT

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“Pants Off’ is an exhibition of ceramic figurines inspired by the traditional English nineteenth century Shropshire figures of courting couples and pagan shepherds and shepherdesses.

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The figurines unashamedly remove their clothing to reveal a previously concealed sexuality subverting the traditional constructs of romantic courtly love.

 

These playful works proclaim a sense of naivety in their execution and personality, as the localised Shropshire ceramics were in contrast to the rarefied cast porcelain figurines of the eighteenth-century German Meissen and French Vincennes and Sevres factories. These figures depict an innocent enjoyment of sex and sexuality. It is a celebration of sexuality as inclusive, part of life, as in ancient classical origins with its celebration of the phallus, as opposed to the binary polarities of a Christian tradition.

 

These figurines are accompanied by representations of nature, with supporting trees and stumps sprouting new growth of leaves and flowers, suggesting spring with its association of fertility and renewal. The titles of the works also reveal a political intent, playfully commenting on the machinations of the art world, what’s hot and what’s not, the fashionable and the sexiness of the art market. Figurines often historically acted as a form of social commentary and courtly entertainment. Like small staged representations they act as parables, in this case telling tales of the art world. These works are about appearances, each figure strikes a pose.

 

These seemingly decorative figurines which once graced the mantelpieces of respectable homes now are sexy parables of our time.