Artist Statement and Background
My name is Bruce and my primary focus of work is between sculpture and illustration. A mechanic I almost always implement into my works is the usage of anthropomorphic animals. This is done as a means to bolster the symbolization of what each animal is meant to represent as well as put emphasis on the simplicity of humanization. But a more down to earth explanation would be that I think our flaws and or talents are best explained as animals. Someone who is more bold and courageous in their day to day activities yet stubborn in any other method would be the animal we symbolically would define, in this case, a bald eagle. It's just as equally a simplistic choice as it is complex; If you were to apply this logic to say a world of these characters, these traits would become stereotypes. Seeing as we already live within a world of stereotypes as is, I believe that it would be an interesting concept to explore in a more realistic sense(Something I plan to do through my illustrative works).
My work encompasses a multitude of animals as a substitution of people as I believe they make for a better representation of our strengths and flaws; But with the usage of rabbits, I believe that we have the most in common. They are the depiction of virility, life, speed, strength, cunning, luck. But I however, understand them to be creatures that are forever dealt with the short hand of luck as they’re killed so incredibly often due to their invasiveness. Why would we kill a creature that is depicted to bring prosperity and good fortune for thousands of years? In fact, Humans and rabbits are not much different once you strip away the comforts and technological advancements. They’re both social creatures that are as vulnerable as they are strong, both capable of dying from the grieving heart of a partner as well as weathering the most horrific of storms. Rabbits are prey animals that survive off of instincts, fear, and paranoia more often than not. They exist within only a step from the bottom of the food chain and yet humans do the same from the comforts at the top of that very food chain. We work under the stress of capitalism, the fear of being different and rejected from society, and the paranoia of self-doubt and sabotage. This is the moral irony and parallel between humans and rabbits that I wish to explore within my works.
Ever since I was young, I remember that I was always inclined to create, make, and plan. I planted seeds so often in pots that my Dad ended up helping me build a few boxes in the backside of our garden since I wanted to step up my game. I was always making things throughout the house trying to be innovative. I wanted to create a self-sustaining flying paper plane, a stream that would continuously refresh the garden outside, a marble to be made from the rocks and dust of the stars; I was always making and creating things which had slowly but surely dwindled away as I grew older. For quite some time, I instead started to focus on athletics, grades, interpersonal relationships, my sense of belonging now that I was maturing towards college, and much more. Soon, the adult questions would begin: What am I going to do with the rest of my life? What's my role in this world, and how do I want to carry myself? They were pretty scary thoughts now that I was in college. Like most kids, I was used to being bumped up from one grade to the next year after year. Now it was my turn to have some control over my life and I stood there terrified for a little while. After some ups and downs, I eventually decided that I was going to listen to my inner child(As cheesy as it may sound) and return to my roots of creating. I wanted to be successful for my family, and for myself, but also for the world. The longer I worked on art throughout my time at University, I've begun to feel more and more as though that I had something to prove. With every project I had come to work on, I had become stronger and stronger in terms of skill, perception, my ability to retain information. I had found another passion and like my parents, I would like to use my passion and work to be able to help people and heal the world.