Artist's Statement

Drawn to the strange and uncanny, Jillian Nalty often begins with observed forms and textures that evoke a visceral, sensual response — the tentacles of a jellyfish, the gills beneath a mushroom or the sheen of a material that defies expectation. Her practice is driven by a fascination with visual ambiguity: how wax can appear wet, or a solid material can suggest softness. Through unexpected material relationships and familiar forms made strange, she creates works that move between beauty and the grotesque, attraction and repulsion.

“My sculptures draw on textures and forms found in flesh, skin, scales and feathers. I am interested in how form alone can trigger a visceral reaction before it can be clearly identified,” says Nalty.

Working across beeswax, polished aluminium, upholstery and synthetic nails, Nalty creates objects that suggest living bodies without depicting them directly – her forms occupy an uncertain territory between organism, object and body.