Icons of the Flesh. Embodiers visualizes the body in ways that promote positive identification with anatomy and sexuality. The icons are signs or abstractions that point toward the body. The title Icons of the Flesh references notions of religious ideas of morality in relation to the body. These notions are contrasted by the representation of sexualized body parts and genitalia. In the Embodiers series comprised of Collars, Badges, and Buttons these sexualized body parts are simplified. With their form abstracted they can be worn in public without immediate recognition (often mistaken for other functional objects, like teapot lids, or security tags), thus serving as a public display of positive support for the body and sexuality. Rather than necklaces or brooches, they are described as badges, collars, and buttons, allusions to wearable communication devices as seen in identity-building devices like military uniforms or political movements. There is also levity in their form, as they are almost naive in their simplified rendering of anatomy. These works are rendered digitally in a 3D modeling program, 3D printed, and then cast in clay. Digital fabrication adds another layer of abstraction and removes it from the body. The ceramic is then set in gold-plated brass.
