Emily Hamann’s Vigor is part of her 2024 solo exhibition, Draped in Shadows.

Emily takes each work through a rigorous process where she moves back and forth between illustrative drawings and clay maquettes. Each iteration is a slight variation on the next, slowly shifting until arriving at her intention. Her sculptural forms are underpinned by her understanding of the interrelationship between materials and the human form; a skill intuitively developed through years of working as a fashion designer.

Hamann works predominantly with flat slabs of clay – a practice informed by her preoccupation for cutting and draping fabrics against a mannequin. Soft, organic forms emerge subtly, hinting at the contours of the human form. A sense of movement is imbued through the flowing, curved edges. The sharply cut, sinuous lines are a visual nod to the drape and cut of fabric.