Jasmine Peck

My creative practice is an intersection of material studies and sculptural ceramics. I utilize the human body as a site for exploration of cultural norms, bodily functions, ideals around beauty, and notions of the grotesque. I use humor to create an accessible entry point as I examine our internal structures.

My ceramic forms are both grounded in our bodily reality and hovering in a strange uncanniness. The ambiguity of the forms allows for interpretations to float between organ and body. I want viewers to become aware of their bodies when encountering my work, to ask themselves; what the standards are for how a body should look? Where can a body inhabit space? What goes into a body and what comes out? Who controls what parts can and cannot be seen? I am also searching for the boundaries of the body: where does the inside stop being the inside? While we may have vastly different bodies on the exterior, we share multitudes of interior commonalities. The investigation of the organs we share, and the feelings we have in regards to our bodies brings us together to cope with what we cannot otherwise come to terms with.

I balance the heaviness of the world with pastel whimsy. This is essentially a true reflection of myself - a duality of goof and seriousness. I examine and depict how I understand a body. A body that has endless cartoonish moments of oozing, goozing, and cells dividing. I take the things that terrify me most about my body and face them in the studio. I always return to Julia Kristeva’s definition of the “abject” when evaluating my work. Kristeva’s abject describes the fear and uneasiness around anything that comes from the body, which then becomes a reminder of our own morality and objectness. We are simultaneously disgusted and intrigued. I live in that space while creating.

I am continually looking for ways to include all bodies while reconciling with the privileges afforded to my body. I hope to create space for all bodies to feel comfortable while allowing space for questioning of societal constraints that our bodies are subject to everyday.