Writhing limbs, phalluses, and hybrid body parts all pour out from Rachel Kneeboneâs porcelain sculptures. Treading a seductive line between beauty, ecstasy, and death, Kneebone mines from the works of Ovid, William Blake, and Dante to produce figurative forms that reference Auguste Rodin and his seminal works like Gates of Hell (1880-1917). Profoundly influenced by Ovidâs Metamorphosis, Kneebone conjures states of erotic transgression as human parts migrate into amorphous forms. The plinths that support her figures give way to cracks and ruptures as, seemingly, the force of these climactic struggles and grotesque scenes becomes too much to bear.
