Being Soft is Hard
2023
Aluminium, concrete
A family of sculptures and objects representing softness and its multiple connotations through materiality and form. Softness is a material quality existing in tactility, material behaviour and aesthetics. However, softness is also something intangible, a human characteristic; the act of being vulnerable, having a sense of openness to emotion, and care. Softness is a personality character stereotypically seen as a feminine trait, a cliche.
Metal and concrete, both historically male-dominated crafts, receive the soft character, as their forms and aesthetics are translated into the softness of a cloth through textile-lined casting moulds, and the process of metal bending.
Softness exists within the hardness of the chosen materials, which creates a play and dialogue between the two extremes and their multiple connotations.
