Mac McCusker’s figurative work and narrative vessels document personalexperiences and struggles as a transgender artist. McCusker addresses preconceptions and prejudices about transgender and gender non-binary individuals as well as about the larger LGBTQIA community by sharing personal narratives through self-portrait busts, small-scale figures, and sculptural vessels.
The figures, which are painted with underglazes or stained with oxide washes, incorporate humor through expressive poses and the inclusion of text and imagery, making them approachable and engaging. Declaring their identity so visibly makes McCusker vulnerable, which reminds viewers of our shared humanity and desire for acceptance, safety, self expression, privacy, dignity, and the ability to control and define our own identities.
The work counters the current political administration, and makes the struggles that McCusker and other transgender people face more prominent in order to inform and connect different communities.
1 Transition Pending, 24 in. (61 cm) in height, red earthenware, oxides, fired to cone 5, 2017.d2 What’s In a Name?, 31 in. (79 cm) in height, red earthenware, underglazes, glaze, mixed media, fired to cone 1, 2017.
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Mac McCusker, Bakersville, North Carolina
Mac McCusker’s figurative work and narrative vessels document personal experiences and struggles as a transgender artist. McCusker addresses preconceptions and prejudices about transgender and gender non-binary individuals as well as about the larger LGBTQIA community by sharing personal narratives through self-portrait busts, small-scale figures, and sculptural vessels.
The figures, which are painted with underglazes or stained with oxide washes, incorporate humor through expressive poses and the inclusion of text and imagery, making them approachable and engaging. Declaring their identity so visibly makes McCusker vulnerable, which reminds viewers of our shared humanity and desire for acceptance, safety, self expression, privacy, dignity, and the ability to control and define our own identities.
The work counters the current political administration, and makes the struggles that McCusker and other transgender people face more prominent in order to inform and connect different communities.
www.macmccuskerceramics.com Instagram:@mac_art_ceramics Facebook:mac.mccusker.5
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