Endearments — Mark Nathan Stafford

Endearments comprises a series of large and small scale hand-built and slip cast sculptures of ambiguous standing creatures. These sculptures are directly inspired by my relationship to my child, and I can honestly say they would not exist if he didn’t. My child is, like the large scale sculptures, huge and at times overpowering in my life. He takes up space mentally and emotionally, and there are days when all I want more than anything is just a little silence. But he is also small and fragile, like the slip cast porcelain ones, and I want nothing more than to protect him, find him a safe place to stay, admire him. The Endearments are a portrait of my loving ambivalence toward fatherhood. Who was I before this strange, enigmatic creature came into my life? When I look at Endearments, I see a sculpture that exists in defiance of categorical and tonal certainties. They stand like humans, but aren’t. They are not clearly one animal or another. They are “cute” but also a little creepy, charming and unsettling. What are they? What do they want? What will they do? I have tried to evoke the uncertainty we feel about our children, how they unsettle who we are and remake us into something new.