Alyssa McClenaghan

Lives and works in Troy, NY, USA

Artist statement

Working with materials traditionally used in the construction or adornment of homes, I am continually exploring the relationship between materials, gender, and my own lived history. In this series I am creating bodily forms that appear to have lost their skeletal armature. Draped over towel bars and occasionally animated, these forms evoke a playfully separation between body and soul. My sculptures depict a world where bodies are without exteriors and utilize humor as a tool to articulate uncertainty. I am interested in the intimacy of domestic spaces and how objects within these spaces interact or imitate the human body. In this work, I have chosen to focus on hardworking but often overlooked bathroom items like the towel. I use foam insulation board, plasters, and paint to communicate the idea of this soft object. The foam is layered and built into cube-like forms, out of which I carefully carve each shape. Next, multiple layers of plaster are applied and sanded down. The act of repetitive shaping and sanding takes place over time and imbues within it my daily thoughts and uncertainties. The objects are then painted in matte acrylic house paints. Finally, mounted on towel bars wrapped in mulberry silk velvet, the intended use of the original structure is no longer viable. Within this work I am investigating the impermanence of items in these spaces as a mirror to our own impermanence. Towels dry and clean, and can be used to decorate, accent, or animate, an otherwise...

Artwork