TAINTED INNOCENCE
RUBEN FORMOSA
Medium: Various clay bodies
Size: 40x25x16cm
Year: 2023
Artwork Description: The sculpture is portraying a female bust which was meant to be a study of an idyllic female face. While working on it, the artist felt that the result was not what he was aspiring for and in a moment of anger or disappointment, he threw a handful of black grogged clay towards the sculpture. It created an unexpected result that put the sculpture into a totally different dimension or perspective. The thrown clay becomes like a haphazard web of mud on the young female’s face in a beautiful contrast between the polished finish face and the rawness of the grogged clay. The work is a metaphor for the lost innocence of childhood - when the reality of life emerges, taking over, and the person becomes tainted with the surrounding life experiences.