Narcissus

This artwork featured in The Precious Clay (2019). 

In Kneebone’s work, fragments of the human body multiply, merge and cascade down, unfurling around a complex tableau of organic and geometric forms. The eye registers the multitude of twisting and dissolving forms as ever-changing configurations. This creates a sense of constant flux and undoes any notion of a singular narrative or ornament. Inspired by ideas of transformation and renewal, Kneebone’s complex porcelain structures are born of intense emotions, expressing movement and fluidity in a medium usually associated with stillness and calm. The material properties of her porcelain work convey an awareness of opposing states, appearing to be heavy, solid and strong but also light, fragmentary and soft.

Image: Rachel Kneebone, Narcissus, 2016. Porcelain. Courtesy the artist and White Cube. Photo: Ben Westoby.

 

About the artist

Rachel Kneebone

Rachel Kneebone exhibited in The Precious Clay, Museum of Royal Worcester, 2019.

Image: Rachel Kneebone, Narcissus, 2016. Porcelain. Courtesy the artist and White Cube. Photo: Ben Westoby.