Nascency
Date2013
MediumOffset lithograph
DimensionsImage: 27 3/16 × 20 5/8 inches (69.1 × 52.4 cm)
Sheet: 27 3/16 × 20 5/8 inches (69.1 × 52.4 cm)
Matted: 40 × 32 inches (101.6 × 81.3 cm)
MarkingsWatermark on the front bottom right: "t"
Credit LineMuseum purchase in honor of Courtney McNeil with Telfair Museum of Art acquisitions endowment funds.
Object number2021.7.11
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextLorna Williams’ sculptures typically revolve around the human body and involve waste, such as hardware, musical instruments, rope, wood, insect hives, hair, and snakeskin sheddings that she collects throughout her travels and everyday life. According to Williams, this assemblage allows her to “closely analyze and deconstruct human anatomy to speak to the reality that human-made materials mimic nature.”
In this work, Williams references the cellular composition of wood through circular shapes and textures in the background recalling tree rings and grain patterns. The female figure disintegrates into organic forms that evoke the root structure of a tree and the network of veins in the human body. This ambiguous shape communicates cycles of life and death, birth and decay, an acknowledgement of the ways in which we are continually forming, dismantling, and rebuilding ourselves.
Text written for 'Contemporary Spotlight: New Acquisitions from the Brandywine Workshop' on view February 4 - May 1, 2022.