Down, 2009
Down, 2009,
Plaster, Acrylic polymer with a rigid polyurethane foam core
210 x 69 x 65 cm
Down was produced alongside another work, entitled Up. Both of these pieces were constructed using two equal, solid blocks of clay (210 cm high by 90 cm square), through which Cerqueira Leite dug a tunnel, in directions correlating to their titles. Cerqueira Leite set herself the challenge of tunneling through the least amount of space possible and thus the cast of her downwards tunnel forms the content of this work. Disembodied limbs and feminine bumps and bulges combine to form a phallic-shaped column resulting in a sculpture that confuses notions of gender. Further, the active and creative force of Juliana's body in constructing Down takes precedence over her own body as subject and facilitates a relationship with the viewer's body, be it masculine or feminine. Down is a work of conflations - the visual and tactile, femininity and masculinity, process and product. The result is a self-referential form where the corporeal limitations of the body are explored.
Down, 2009, detail