My Female Gaze –

I place women on a pedestal. Pensive, poetic and alluring, my figurative sculpture pose questions of identity, hybridity and womanhood.

An area of my practice has been devoted soft activism driven by historical narratives, feminism, social justice, and my (hidden) African American ancestry. I am fascinated by the complexities of identity and concerned with the dialogue surrounding the many forms of social construct. Those hidden narratives that highlight unspoken truths intrigue me. It is through this lens that I create my figurative sculpture.

I am interested in cultural hybridity and borrow mythology and narratives from different cultures to add layers of personal meaning to my work. Feathers, dogwood flowers, a book, all symbols that hold meaning both universal and specific to different cultures, religions or people. Deer Woman is a symbol of feminine power in Native American tribes, and you can find similar figures in Celtic mythology.

I use mirrors and reflections as a visual device to explore identity further.  The mirrored face is a tool for self-reflection or as a vehicle for the viewer to embody the sculpture. In Mirror, Mirror, her mirrored face reflects into the mirror on the ground, infinitely. While the mirrored faces, outward and convex, adds a futuristic effect, which is enhanced further by the expression of my figurative style.

The idea of a breastplate first appeared on the sculpture, The Journey, drawn in glimmering gold luster with markings borrowed from a feline. The markings also appear on the back of The Unknown and are unique to each being. I imagine all women have a metaphorical mechanism that acts as a breastplate for self-protection, self-preservation and to keep our power safe. When I made What We Carry, I was thinking of the beautiful armor and decorative metal work of the Renaissance and my life’s journey, but also in the collective sense, women’s life journey. The dogwood flowers represented reliability, durability, and affection in the Victorian era. The hanging shards of mica and beads, fragments of our lives. When I tried to fire the piece a third time, pushing the temperature beyond its limit to achieve an improved glaze result, a slit opened above the heart. I chose to leave it as is, feeling the universe was contributing to the work.

- Jocelyn Braxton Armstrong