“Figuring the Body” My practice is grounded on an abiding interested in a relationship between an empirical knowledge of the body on one hand, and systems of representation and theory on the other. In recent years, I have been working with an underlying notion that equates the term “body” with the phenomenon of carnal existence, and term “figuration” with the act of its interpretation, or representation. This notion, that any act of interpretation of the body is an act of figuration no matter what form it takes, has given rise, in my own practice, to a number of apparently disparate but related projects. The Polymorph clusters derive from pressing small lumps of clay between my hand and another part of my body. These arbitrary shapes and arrangements, formed by the body, are then sculpted into larger forms. They suggest a formative act of interpretation –a “first naming”, and so too suggest a childlike playfulness and enquiry where all the bodily senses –sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste –are called upon to form the primary impressions of ourselves in the world. Evan Penny