Laura O'Donnell

Artist Statement

I use the figure (literal and suggested), nature, and architecture as visual reference points. In my sculpture ambiguities arise between the environment/ structural enclosure and the body. I like the idea and mystery of spaces which can potentially hold something important within- or spaces possessing implied use or importance when left empty. These cavities use negative space to define positive space and positive to define negative, or metaphorically, what is seen and what is not bear equal significance. These places can be found both in the body and architecture. The body serves as the physical house for ideas and emotions. Thus, in essence, the physical object has the potential to hold something greater, something unseen. The human skin serves as a façade, a border between two worlds; the world beyond and the world within are of equal magnitude. My goal is to use the body, architecture, and nature symbolically for presenting new ways of looking at and understanding the unspoken.