Loss2022
Loss is an enclosed sculpture with a head, spine and base. The head is made of wire with a Paper Mache mask and covered in wax. The head sits on a spine-shaped-pole planted on a large wood block. The wax pieces head are similarly shaped to neuron cells all in different states of melting. Much of the wax drips down from the head, down the pole, and puddled at the base, The sculpture looms over the viewer giving it an unsettling look.

The purpose of the work is to represent the effects of dementia. The wax neuron cells are more literal with the structures melting and withering away. The head is tilted down to the viewer. However not actually engaging with the viewer it appears more as a unblinking 1000 yard stare in a state of confusion and unknowing. The blank mask is simple in form, this is to tell the viewer that anybody can have this disease and how detrimental it can be for family and friends. The overall work was meant to express memory loss and the damages of dementia and how family and friends can view the infected person. Someone they don't know nor recognize anymore.



©Clay ShumateCreated 2024