The most recurring love stories often deal with a similar narrative: a connection between two people sparks, grows and they eventually fall in love.
After years of self-deprecation, design and craft, senior Ansley Wilson has created a story based on a different kind of relationship — a love for oneself.
Thanks to Wilson’s growing collection of ceramic artwork titled, “Naked Ceramics,” Wilson has been able to craft functional art vessels while finding self-love and inspiration along the way.
“When I say I am my inspiration, I do not mean that in a comedic or cliche way,” Wilson said. “It has taken me years, since childhood when I realized I was not ‘normal,’ to look at myself in love.”
Their “sculptural conceptual work,” as Wilson describes it, features the nude female body with characteristics the common eye might perceive as opposite to the ideal feminine figure.
“Instead of making something ideal, I made something realistic and that’s what I pride myself on: depicting who I am as a person and what I see everyday and what I value,” Wilson said.
Uneven breasts, pubic hair, rolls and curves have all found a home in Wilson’s neutral-toned ceramics. Through a mixture of pottery and art, Wilson has taken ordinary objects such as cups and transformed them into versions of themself.
“I am overwhelmed by the beauty that my body possesses as it is — fat, stretch-marked, acne ridden, hairy, scarred,” Wilson said. “The hope I put into my work is to normalize what has been made ugly or undesirable by molding myself into these ceramic objects.”
Nonetheless, their collection of self-portraits aims to reflect the beauty of human anatomy and the myriad of bodies separate from the artist’s.
“I find the body extremely beautiful and interesting, so my work simply pays homage to that,” Wilson said. “I also find it important to be inclusive, so I explore gender in my work as well, so you may find some penis-owners or vagina-owners or (transgender) bodies.”
Wilson’s incorporation of real, raw features generally receives one of two responses from their viewers. Some spectators voice discomfort with Wilson’s work, calling it “too graphic” or “pornographic.”
Others have expressed their appreciation for “Naked Ceramics,” as they too, share similar curves and folds as the figures created by Wilson.
Despite varied critiques, Wilson says their hope is to desexualize the human body while simultaneously creating connections with their audience.
“My art is a way of communicating myself, but moreso, I want the viewer to connect with themselves, their bodies and the inner workings of their hearts and minds,” Wilson said. “I want people to see the ‘imperfections,’ like uneven breasts, moles, scars, body hair, fatness and so on, and I want them to appreciate that this is artwork.”
Wilson’s artwork can be viewed on her Instagram page @nakedceramics.
