“For art to be art it has to engage the mind rather than the body, it has to involve the faculty of imagination and bring about a still, contemplative state in the viewer.”
Loretta’s most recent work is about duality, stemming from her fascination with the female form and the elusive nature of one’s inner self. After developing depression, her work encompasses and symbolises conflicts felt within this condition. Her work is a cathartic journey and is also used as a therapeutic outlet; by making she is been able to gain control and manage her depression. “Genitals are a sight of which is always exciting, but nevertheless ever judged to be beautiful…” Freud. The beauty in her work is obtained by the material she works in, high-fired porcelain. Porcelain has a sense of fragility and vulnerability to it, much like aspects of her depression. Porcelain is a metaphor for how she is as a person. Loretta understands that her work is subjective to the viewer. It is exceedingly important within her practice to evoke reactions and engage the thoughts of her audience. The whole process of making is a portrayal of Loretta’s journey, the transition from who she was, to who she is now. Before firing, the soft clay is like depression, as a being she was self-destructive, easily manipulated and influenced. During the firing, the work begins to build a foundation, the structure becomes more solid. The fire represents the pain felt and the riddance of a breakable form and a new object is created. Once fired, the clay has durability and strength; it is able to stand alone and cannot be manipulated. A lot of the feelings Loretta has felt within her depression have been felt towards her own genitalia. She believes that the mind and genitals are the most private and personal parts of herself. To then take this intimate part of her and display it to the public, creates a sense of declaration and empowerment. Loretta believes that by exposing her work so freely, it escapes this sense of shame and perversion that can be associated with genitalia. |