Jenni Ward: Bone Series, 2014-2021

Jenni Ward: Bone Series, 2014-2021

The Bone Series is focused on the remains of a form. The pieces imply what is left after the flesh is gone, or pieces that sometimes need to be reassembled to understand what once was. They are inspired by the fibrous texture of bones and the balance between the strength and the fragility of the material. They represent the connections we have with each other, the synapses happening within our own bodies and how we are stitched together from past to present, from inside to out.

Initially created as flat discs that connected together for public art, gallery exhibits and site specific places, the Bone Series evolved into three dimensional objects that echo the forms of jellyfish and urchins using high temperature wire to give them slight hints of movement and energy. Over the course of three residencies in Nevada, Iceland and Taiwan, I was able to successfully create these forms in thin nearly translucent porcelain pushing the boundaries of their fragility. I have been making work in this series since 2014 but have yet to run out of inspiration from it.