Sculpting with Air Dry Modelling Clay and the Emergence of Strangers

Air dry modelling clay is a new material for me.  I am keen to work with the clay to push and prod ideas around.  Rather than pursue an objective or seek a particular likeness, I want the material to have the space, energy and agency to become itself and thus facilitate the emergence of the unknown, a stranger.  Georg Simmel (1908) views the stranger as a figure in isolation existing within a mix of physical proximity and social distance – somewhere between near and far.  A stranger could simply be someone we haven’t yet met or the unknown other.  Despite our fundamental need to socialise, we are encouraged from an early age not to speak to strangers.  The strict social distancing measures put in place during lockdown not only make new friendships unlikely but also affect the development of existing relationships.  Family, friends and those we are closest to exist in a new space neither near nor far.

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