By
Maggie Burnett
Arizona Daily Wildcat
"Time, Body, Process" uses casts of artists' bodies to make social statements
Three UA graduate students have combined their talents - and physical forms - to create a new exhibit now at the Lionel Rombach Gallery.
"Time, Body, Process" is the brainchild of Master of Fine Arts students Mary Babcock, Rebecca Young and Darden Bradshaw. The exhibit represents the relationship between the human body and its proximity to the surrounding environment.
On the back wall of the exhibit are three sculptured casts of the human form, each masked partially by a mixed media such as latex or silk. The forms are personal casts of each artist's body.
Babcock's form is shielded by another, more translucent likeness made from prickly pear cactus found in the local desert. This layer is then shielded by a screen of silk bearing words dyed with lemon juice. The words represent some of the many pollutants in the environment.
"I deal with environmental issues," Babcock said. "The way we imprint on the environment is the same as the way we imprint our bodies."
Young's sculpture is partially covered with a skin-like blanket of latex and hair, imitating the continually changing nature of human existence.
"The skin is like taking off a mold. You sort of get a glimpse of me but not really," Young said. "It represents where I'm at in grad school. You feel vulnerable, like you're putting yourself out there."
Finally, Bradshaw's sculpture is partially masked by a quilt dangling in front of the cast. The quilt is meticulously stitched together and features a patchwork of food wrappers. The sculpture-quilt ensemble represents society's constant quest for beauty in the female body, Bradshaw said.
"My piece is about culture's response to the imperfect female body," Bradshaw said. "The quilt is a (more) metaphorical skin or covering of the body than a literal manifestation of the body."
The exhibit also features a viewer-interactive aspect. The entire floor of the exhibit is covered with a layer of sand -12 tons in all. The artists encourage viewers to take off their shoes and get to know the exhibit on a more personal level while leaving their footprints in the sand.
"We want viewers to walk through the sand and leave their imprint," Bradshaw said. "We hope to cast the imprints and hang them on the walls (of the exhibit)."
The sand was also a medium used for the artists to cast their human body sculptures. Each woman laid in the sand to form the cast, and the imprints of their bodies still remain in the floor.
"Time, Body, Process" can be seen at the Lionel Rombach Gallery through Sept. 28.
