Troy Aiken

This new body of work is a departure from some of my previous interests and methods of working. I have begun to shift my focus more towards research into practices of acceptable common social structures and the impact of social influence on society today. These current vessel structures act as personifications of human beings representing some of the change, hardship, trauma and perseverance that people experience on a day-to-day basis. The structures are meant to serve as a commentary on narratives and first-hand experiences that have been gathered from multiple sources within the last couple of years that touch on Ideas such as body image enhancement, self-esteem issues, fragility and collective anxiety in the wake of a global pandemic. The vessel-like structures that are formed become more enhanced or dilapidated through simulation with multiple glaze applications as surfaces begin to either gain or lose information and represent themes of burial, excavation, decay and chemical processes that occur within a landfill. This new experimental way of building allows me more freedom to explore and continue to contribute as well as push the boundaries of the contemporary ceramic visual language that the work embodies.

Iowa