My work aims to reframe our relationships with animals, nurturing empathy and compassion in an era marked by mass extinction. I frequently employ clay as a medium, utilizing the animal form as a poignant symbol of life's fragility. Through sound, video, animation, and ceramics, I guide viewers towards a deeper connection with the Other.

Crafting animals enables me to forge poetic links challenging the notion that personhood is solely human. My approach to hand-building is informed by historical cultures with intimate connections to animals, their environments, and contemporary technologies. Research into biology, biodiversity, microbiology, Gaia Theory, and critiques of the "Anthropocene" shape my practice, emphasizing the vulnerability of all life.

Engaging with ceramic effigies allows me to simplify forms, reflecting the emotional bonds people maintain with the animal body. I leverage this connection to mirror humanity's tendency to 'otherize' the natural world, akin to racism. The effigy elevates the unseen and unheard, fostering empathy without dwelling on suffering, but rather emphasizing agency for both animal entity and viewer.

Aged surfaces on my ceramic pieces invite viewers to explore clay's rich history. Distressed, fractured, and weathered textures evoke a sense of timelessness, achieved through atmospheric firings and electric kiln techniques. Clay's ubiquity and capacity to inspire care make it an ideal medium, both versatile and deeply rooted in human evolution.

As a handbuilder, I prefer medium to large-scale earthenware clays, employing coil and slab techniques to create standing animal forms. These serve as canvases for visual and narrative development through sgraffito, glaze work, and projections of video and animation. Hollow building allows my sculptures to resonate with sound, merging auditory and visual elements for a synesthetic audience experience.

(Christopher is also available for commissions)