Marie-Thérèse Ross MRSS

Marie-Thérèse Ross' work is deeply personal as it seeks to expresses human vulnerability, as she explores the hidden workings of the mind, focussing on states of physical, emotional and psychological transformation. Her work appears humorous as well as darkly subversive, as she seems to hide herself in plain sight. She seeks to both reveal and hide awkward personal experiences including childhood memories, episodes that reflect on her own sense of vulnerability and mortality.  

She creates immersive installations with sculptures of corvid birds and broken up figures that inhabit and animate furniture.  These incorporate specially commissioned music.  Birds are often used symbolically in art history and Ross adds her own layer of personal symbolism.  "Painted in black and eschewing naturalism and detailing, they are described by Ross not as sculptures of the birds, but sculptures of their shadows. Crafted in wood and recycled timber, they give weight and permanence to the fleeting nature of their subject." (Aliki Braine: Writing without words) These birds are disruptive and represent the exterior world, whereas the anthropomorphic furniture seems to move silently, reflecting the more vulnerable and fragile inner core. By focusing on the personal interior versus the outside world, Ross grapples with themes and ideas that include feminism, mortality and the human condition.   

Using reclaimed wood and objects that have been discarded by others. Elements or the whole sculpture can be broken or literally smashed and then rebuilt, the process repeated until the required tension is achieved. Dowels and screws join and secure pieces together, often left exposed rather than smoothed away and hidden. Surfaces are not polished, the grain of the wood is left visible, and the process of making revealed.

A recent residency on Eilean Shona, an isolated Scottish Island, represented a new challenge to the artist, where she sought to address her new environment with its temperate rain forest, beaches and pine forests. She worked outdoors in the landscape making site specific sculptures and wood block prints. She also made small wall-based sculptures using found materials including bark, lichens and seaweed, as well as producing over 100 drawings and watercolours.  The experience has left a lasting impact on her practice