Sue Applegate

Confronting society’s view of women and ‘The Body Beautiful’ I have tried to show women of all shapes and sizes that they are beautiful.

Casting directly from ‘willing’ volunteers, I then isolated body shapes to produce a series of vessels made from bellies and breasts. I want people to see the bulging lines, bumps, lumps and scars as something sensual and beautiful, this it appears is only possible for some when you remove them from any association with a human body.

The vessels are to be touched and caressed drawing people to them, letting them explore the pieces with all of their senses. I have found that when people realise that it is a breast or belly they are handling, then they get panicked, uncomfortable, almost repulsed, yet remove the ‘human’ element and tell them that it is one of a multitude of casts and that the owner is ambiguous they then explore the piece thoroughly with no inhibitions.

I enjoy the playfulness of these pieces, alongside the more sombre context of society’s warped views on body image. I want to show through beautiful delicate forms that we are all beautiful shapes and it is only society’s perceived constraints and our own self-perception that changes how others view us.