Outer Beauty

The sculpture is a mixed media piece that includes several castings of my hands, a found wooden structure, cement and other found metals. The piece itself took several weeks of working and reworking ideas. This use of found materials added a layer to this project that I had not experienced before, causing me to scrap the original work and start over. There are two halves to this piece. The top half of the piece includes three hands. They each have been attached to the wood backing of the project by screws. Then several layers of cement, paint dyed plaster, and glue mixed with gesso were added. A complex texture of light and dark grays were formed because of this.
This mixture then slowly begins to pour over into the second half of the piece. The backing of this section holds a mirror. Two hands reside on the top and bottom of this piece, all fingers attached, though it's clear they have been glued together. The wood surrounding the mirror has been painted with a combination of glue and gesso to create a melting effect on the sides of the bottom half. Through the piece as a whole, are chunks of broken plexiglass, although there is more on top then the bottom half. On either side of this piece are metal attachments, creating an industrial and almost found quality to the piece.
“Outer Beauty” is a representation of inner and outer self. The top half holds the inner turmoil and depression one can suffer through, whereas the bottom half of the piece is how the outside world sees this individual with a mirror holding a view of the onlooker. However, the top half of this piece is breaking down, spilling over into the bottom half and slowly showing all who view the truth of their turmoil and unhappiness. The outer beauty and inner beauty are merged into one, creating chaos and overflow within the work.