The sculptures of the artist Ellen Jewett might look like realistic renditions of animals, but if you take a closer look, you'll see some startling details as the creatures show themselves to be much more. Her surrealist sculptures are pretty creative blend of animals, plants and occasionally some human-made structures or objects, with branches and flowers growing from their backs, and in some cases, the creatures' bodies meld into floral forms.
Her artwork is deeply backed up by an impressive background in anthropology, exotic animal care, medical illustration and even stop-motion animation, all of these accentuate the biological structure of each piece, while freeing her creative imagination to pursue more abstract ideas. The sculptures made by Ellen are a different world in itself, there are fantastical narrative embedded with her creations, each creature seem like its own ecosystem. These are some beautiful fantastic and surreal animals, between mythology, legends and the world of dreams.
Ellen begun creating sculptures from a young age, and this transformed into a lifelong obsession, her connection to life and nature has translated to an array of metaphysical creations merging beauty and the grotesque. Her sculptures are completely made by hand, the materials used are metal covered with lightweight clay, which is sculpted and then painted to make each piece original and unique. By using these uncommon materials and leaving some traces of fingerprints and other small imperfections, Ellen hopes her work leaves a more authentic impression.
We love these sculptures because they blend familiar animal shapes into something that is beautiful and seems to celebrate the animal's strength and beauty rather than diminish or twist it unnecessary. Jewett's ability to subvert realism into something fantastical and to create hyperrealistic pieces comes from her knowledge of anthrozoology. Her process involves a lot of dedication, a very close attention to details and the desire to push her medium to its furthest limits.
Comments