You Used to Love Me. Original by Bee Daly

Buttons and textiles
8”x4”x4”.
 
‘You Used to Love Me’
is a series of works that explores the abandonment of things we once found
precious. Bears’ are multi-faceted in their context, in that they not only evoke
feelings of sentiment and need, and one instinctively wants to hold and hug
them, but they also speak of the throwaway consumerism of the 21st century
that is not only prevalent in our need for ‘stuff’ but also our attitudes in
relationships. These notions are subverted by being showcased in the form of a
Teddy Bear. A precious possession
 
 
My studio practise is an amalgamation of photography, film, sculpture,
installations, ceramics, textiles and mixed media. I have with an intimate
fascination with materiality and form, exploring the synergies between them. My
work transforms my collected materials as I modify incongruous domestic and
natural materials, transforming them into exquisite objects. The context of my
explorations often represent the ‘female condition’ and the effect of demands
imposed by society on our youth.
Much has been explored and said about the body, yet artists continue to feel
there is still more to say. Our body houses us. It contains our inner life. Our
thoughts and desires are our own until we begin to voice them to others. Often in
conflict with social norms.
Is it the visible object we project on to the world that defines us? Defining us by
gender, race and age.Through my work I explore forms in and of the body. I am
looking at the internal, the mature, the lived. I have a fascination of its bulbous
shapes, layers of sinew and fleshy skin, undulating folds, knobby joints. It is the
both sensual and ghastly. It brings us pleasure and pain. From our birth to death
we are captive to the human form we call our body, to its evolving shape and its
ultimate decline.
I stuff, bind, stitch, layer and sculpt using reclaimed objects and a variety of
media including; ceramics, cloth, paper, thread, embroidery, resin and wax.
Through the physical process and the repetitive nature of my work, I’m driven to
give voice to the evolving body and its resistance to what society dictates it
should be.