Catherine Palfreyman

A light is on but nobody’s home is an installation that represents an everyday dressing room area. I have intervened on objects to give them a sense of fleshy excess using a variety of materials, including foam, gelatine, soap and clay. The installation situates the viewer into the space via a mirror, so that they sense themselves in place. My material interventions create an uncanny feeling. 

 I am always thinking about what the work will say, rather than how it looks, and makes my art very varied. Materiality has an important function in my practice and I use a variety of media to experiment with its latent artistic potential, meaning my work often takes a sculptural form. I enjoy taking materials and using distortion as a visual strategy. My work consistently embodies an abject, grossness and I delight in this as a rebellion against neat femininity, to develop an excessive, exuberance through materials. 

In my creative practice, I wear my political heart on my sleeve. However, as I deepen my relationship with art I find myself giving more room for reflection rather than illustrating a point. I bring a light-hearted humorous touch to contexts that can be seen as heavy or leaden.