After more than 30 years of oil painting, having specialized in portraiture, I felt increasingly unsatisfied representing the individuality of my subjects, as if their truths remained just out of reach. Circumstances inspired me to switch to figurative sculpting in 2021. This shift allowed me to build on my experience with portrayals, but also to move beyond certain personal patterns and constraints strongly associated with my painting. Moving from a two-dimensional surface to a three-dimensional space opened up a world of possibilities and unleashed a fresh wave of creativity and vision. Sculpture is a tactile medium that enables me to better express my insights and experiences in a physical form, resulting in more emotion and more movement in my pieces.

When I start sculpting, I embark on a visual journey where I encounter the person I wish to bring to form. I then sculpt the figures or body parts using oil-based clay, without any clothing, to transcend a specific time, culture, and space. It’s their inner story, underneath the countless layers of untruths I want to discover. The story may reveal that they are in pain, broken, incomplete, or rejected; yet the exposure facilitates recognition and connection. Working the material, I naturally balance traditional techniques with creative innovation, as a subconscious process based on decades of artistic experience. Once completed, I create a plaster mould after which I reproduce replicas in porcelain. The piece is then fired, allowing for cracks and warping to give space to its own individual journey and uniqueness.

My sculptures are united by a common theme - the relentless pursuit of truth about the essence of humanity, beyond the confines of the ego, belief systems, and societal facades. This quest has been shaped by my upbringing in diverse cultures, extensive travels, experiences in social work, and my own introspective explorations of identity. Through my work, I aim to offer viewers a glimpse into their own emotional landscapes, to provide moments of calm reflection in a world fraught with stress and noise. Defying beauty as static perfection, my sculptures reveal the beauty of our personal journeys, including our imperfections, painful experiences, and failures. I consider this vulnerable beauty, captured in dynamic moments, as a source of hope, redemption, and healing for us individually and for humanity as a whole.