Andréa Keys is a young
ceramic artist from Athens,
Ohio who creates beautifully
rendered and stylized life-size ceramic figures.
Of her work she says, 'The
sculptures that I make are driven by a desire to investigate how an individual s
personal history affects their identity, behaviors and actions. I am interested
in how intergenerational trauma and a person s past, particularly a past that
has been interrupted by a traumatic event such as war, can influence patterned
and learned behaviors that are passed through the family. I am utilizing images,
patterns and symbols, found in specific notions of Western identity and
psychology to create my characters, yet I am displaying them in environments
that are unfamiliar. The element of fantasy that I create shows how the past and
present, dream and reality, conscious and unconscious, and the familiar and
unfamiliar can exist together in an environment that is uncanny, much like the
way subconscious memories of a traumatic event can be very much alive in our
conscious actions.'
'I am
exploring characteristics of the Western collective identity by referencing both
Social
Realist Monuments and Hummel Figurines. The
rendering qualities of the Hummel figurine are a visual trigger of a specific
language of social idealization of the child/childhood. Their chubby, red cheeks
and full bodies, their curious, sweet gestures, doe eyes and sturdy wide stance
represent health, happiness and an uncorrupt innocence. The pedestals that they
stand on are adorned with green grass, flowers and creatures of the forest that
would typically be afraid of people. The Hummel is a symbol of unblemished
purity.'
'The
Social Realist monument is a symbol that I am using as an emblem of the
collective identity in the implied role of the adult. The strong angular
features and solid bodies that are glorified by their enthusiastic and intense
gestures on top of their massive pedestals were used to promote nationalism and
to encourage a unified desire to fulfill their duties to their families and
their country. I am attempting to show a crack in the façade of the lack of
complex emotions that both representations seek to convey. The figures are being removed from their
known identity and environment in order to show conscience coming into
play. The heroes will show a
flicker of doubt in their aim and the children will question what they are
witnessing. The pedestal that both the monument and Hummel are presented on is a
stage that represents their unrealistic social idealization and removes them
from reality. When the pedestal is removed, turned over, or sinking, their
vulnerability is revealed and their true, flawed human psyche is apparent. By portraying the child and adult in my
chosen styles, I am allowing the viewer to have an expectation of the character
s ethos, but I confuse that expectation by introducing a notion of the
conscience. By portraying a glimmer of thought, a change in gesture or aim, the
line between fantasy and reality is burred even more. By conveying the sense of
the conscience in otherwise unconscious figures, I hope to stimulate pathos
between the character's situation and the viewer. '
