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Artworks
Laura Ford b. 1961
Twiglet, 1991Bronze51 1/8 x 23 5/8 x 22 1/2 in
130 x 60 x 57 cmEdition 1 of 5 plus 2 APsTwiglet was originally cast in fibreglass for a Riverside Studios exhibition and like many of her sculptures presents a hybrid form, conveying a political message which speaks to Ford’s broader...Twiglet was originally cast in fibreglass for a Riverside Studios exhibition and like many of her sculptures presents a hybrid form, conveying a political message which speaks to Ford’s broader feminist agenda. Although Ford uses a variety of materials, her bronze sculptures have been likened to depictions of characters that sit on the precipice of a dream and nightmare.
Ford uses the figure of the child in Twiglet to emphasise the interplay between energy and anarchy. Viewers are met with the figure’s Medusa-like hair and gun-toting hands which, when combined with the figure’s expressionless face, challenge the viewer to confront her emotions through her stance alone. In all of her figures Ford draws on familiar cultural references so as to make her work not only accessible but thought provoking whilst playing with viewer’s assumptions and emotions. Twiglet is typical of Ford’s work. In her depiction of children and animals Ford creates imagined almost carnivalesque creatures with distinct anthropomorphic qualities through which she explores various aspects of the human condition.