Courtney McCall

Biomorphic Bloom

I create sculptures made from steel, wood, and fibers that are an exploration of fantastical abstracted flora and fauna. I construct idealized utopias with my forms that generate a whimsical and welcoming space for emotional and physical regeneration. Similar to fantasy and speculative fiction genres, my sculptural work suggests an alternative site for exploring new possibilities and the desire for discovery. Rather than maintaining fidelity to my nature observations, I abstract my objects to create curiosity about what they may resemble- an experience I feel when finding plants I have never seen before.

The artist Matthew Ronay who carves biomorphic sculptures from wood inspires me with his use of direct carving and vibrant color combinations. He creates small accumulations of organically shaped forms with soft curvatures that feel alive. Shapes are nestled into each other with volumes that protrude from their central structure, recalling spontaneous and fantastical fungal growths. I enjoy aspects of biomorphism, its genre of abstraction of nature, its organic resemblances to something living, and its more romantic, decorative factors rather than functional ones.

The artistic processes I use throughout my work can be broken into the overlapping categories of laborious and restorative. I came to terms with this way of working because I struggled with ongoing fatigue that curtailed my usual production. Through this, I had an opportunity to reflect on the sustainability of my practices and find alternative ways of working to support different elements in my biomorphic work. I consider the processes requiring extensive physical efforts, like bending steel and carving with power tools, laborious. While other activities that could be completed while sitting as restorative.

Direct carving, a theme of biomorphism, bears the "inherent qualities of the raw materials [through the] materiality of the object and the process"₁ itself. My wooden pieces undergo this procedure through sawing, carving, and sanding to expose the diverse grain patterns in the rounded forms. Despite their transformed shapes, the wood grains allow viewers to identify the material for what it is. My process of direct carving dips into both labor categories for my two stages of wood handling. First laborious, for sawing and carving away the material, then restorative when sanding in a relaxed, seated state.

The Surrealist strategy of automatism also influences my restorative processes. Automatism is "creating art without conscious thought, accessing material from the unconscious mind as part of the creative process."₂ Crocheting wires and wrapping fibers serve as repetitive and meditative unconscious procedures.

Other restorative processes include the rubbing and wrapping of materials for an act of remembrance, concealment, and understanding. This method is performed when encompassing rebar with ribbon, the ropes with fringed canvas, and painting the wooden shapes- additionally, when degreasing steel sheets to be heat torched. Through my varying scales of work and these two process categories, I create my abstracted environments.

₁ "Direct Carving - Modern Art Terms and Concepts." The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/definition/direct-carving/. Accessed 5 June 2023.

₂ Tate. "Automatism." Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/automatism. Accessed 5 June 2023.

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