Statement

To move is to be alive. I use the state of human embodiment to convey what moves beneath the flesh. I am interested in what animates it and the way the external reveals deep and complex internal processes.

My sufaces can crackle with energy or whisper deep yearnings. Line and gesture telegraph the body’s energetic movement, the circulation of blood, the alchemical transformation of character. The soul speaks through the turn of the mouth, the direction of the eyes gaze. It is my intention to capture the energy contained within the human form.

When working on paper, I use my hands directly on the surface. I feel the gesture with cold wax, then apply powdered pigment and the image emerges. I work additively and subtractively in a process that feels like sculpture.

Fern Bass, 2004