MARY O'SHAUGHNESSY Daughters of Memory    Oct 2 - Oct 27, 2009

A space surrounded by Mary O’Shaughnessy’s female torsos fills the viewer with a flood of curiosity. Some images feel immediately familiar even though imaginary, distorted or otherwise manipulated. They are humorous, poignant, forceful and penetrating.

This body of work, five years in the making, stems from O’Shaughnessy’s personal memories. Although personal, the memories share a universal root whether the viewer is male of female. O’Shaughnessy lays bare the internal guidance system of things that have happened, been said, been done to us and remain within us creating different internal dialogues rarely seen by others. O’Shaughnessy’s sardonic sense of humor is evident in all of her work. The titles are important and give a measure of levity to the work.

The artist states, “The figures look like torsos, the iconic headless, armless torsos that we associate with classic art, but I see them as the external manifestation of these internal dialogues. As a woman, I have struggled to overcome these internal dialogues, and see myself for who I am, not through the critical eye that was created by me as a reaction to words or events that have happened. After having many conversations with other women, I know that we all have these demons, and by creating sculpture that addresses some of these universal concerns, in a humorous way, I hope to let others know that they are not alone, and that they can move beyond the circular thinking that keeps them from moving forward.”

This body of work grew from a found dress form from the 1940s called My Double. Women would buy a form, compress the metal web construction around themselves, unsnap the front opening, make it rigid using cross bars, and send it off to the dressmaker. The trace of the former owner delighted and intrigued O'Shaughnessy. Mary states, ”Here I had so many different women, all anonymous, but with an intimacy that few other people ever saw.” Mary saw the dress forms as the perfect base to wrap with wet handmade abaca paper. Layer upon layer of abaca paper could be added to give the form strength. This created a shell that could be the base for Mary’s concepts. In some she kept the dress form as part of the piece, in others it was removed. The last layer was letter pressed with words and images. O’Shaughnessy decided that they should have an internal light, “because I believe that we all have this light within, and that it should be allowed to shine out past everything else. The internal structure of the neon tubing also provided a stand for the piece to be displayed on.” Mary’s educational background in set design, interior design and architecture, taught her to consider the piece as a whole, including how it is to be displayed. The wood bases hold the electronics for the neon. Each piece comes with a pedestal that the sculpture and base fit into for shipping.

Mary O’Shaughnessy’s work echoes the work of Leslie Dill, KiKi Smith and Louise Bourgeois. Each of these women pluck out their internal dialogues, trying to create external manifestations that are beautiful, thought provoking and stay with you after you have seen them. O’Shaughnessy’s torsos are hauntingly evocative.