Victoria Royds - Artist Statement

The rejection, the exclusion of a female imaginary certainly puts woman in the position of experiencing herself only fragmentarily, in the little-structured margins of a dominant ideology, as waste, or excess, what is left of a mirror invested by the (masculine) 'subject' to reflect himself, to copy himself. Moreover, the role of 'femininity' is prescribed by this masculine specula(riz)ation and corresponds scarcely at all to woman's desire, which may be recovered only in secret, in hiding, with anxiety and guilt (Irigaray 1985b, p. 30).
 

I originally trained as jewellery designer and for over 25 years I have worked as a contemporary jeweller as well as a public and community artist. I found that jewellery was a limiting form, especial in regard to scale, so since 2004 I have been working on larger sculpture and installation pieces.

In my current art practice explores issues of identity for myself and for other women in western society. I do this by questioning traditional visual representations of the feminine form and how we view and locate the female body in our culture. I use fragments of the female body as portraits of an individual and by emphasising their differences as normal, that they are not 'self-identical', I reinforce that they are not in a fixed state of being. This fragmentation of the body is a metaphor of how our western society has fragmented and compartmentalised the feminine and the female body.

The work is not just about women and so 'othering' them but involves women. They are a necessary part of the process, the procedure, the performance, the ritual. By presenting the dualities of the feminine through the female body I try to invite the construction of new meaning, to restore the mechanical hand to flesh and blood. (see Robert Johnson's The Handless Maiden)

Sculpture and installations are often labour intensive and this allows me time for contemplation and experimentation of ideas and techniques. I enjoy the physical nature of sculpture, both the making process and the physical space that it occupies.

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