MFA Thesis Exhibit

Victoria Walton

Ceramic Art

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Artist Statement

Victoria Walton b. 1994 is an emerging visual artist based in Baltimore. They have an MFA in Ceramic Art from NYSCC at Alfred University and a BFA with a focus in ceramics from Towson University. Victoria explores the wonder and complexity of Black identity, creating large-scale sculptures and video works that center the narratives of women and gender-expansive people. Walton draws from their own life: reflecting on the intersection of her identities and ongoing battle with her health. She further investigates the impact that historic societal factors and personal experiences have on the individual and the Black community, making multi-layered connections between clay and the body. 
 
The human body provides a framework for conveying the truth, harnessing the potential for great beauty and great discomfort. My work centers Black women and gender-expansive people, as I unpack the impact of historic societal factors and the complexities of personhood, for the individual and the community at large. Through levels of figuration from the bust to the full figure, I address the nuances of identity, the necessity of nonconformity, our relationship with trauma and resiliency, and the healing of wounds in the Black lived experience. I explore how we hold the sum of our histories: ancestral, lived, and present. This engagement of the body illustrates how the systems we inhabit build and break us down simultaneously.  
 
Ceramics are central to my work, as I create large sculptures that are in scale to the viewer. This relationship transmits an invitation to partake in emotional untethering and connection. Through textile collage and wood, I abstract the environment of the subject, prioritizing the importance of nature and the understanding of Blackness, disability, and queerness as natural. Through this landscape, I play with the beauty and decay of our surroundings that create opportunities for growth and trauma. Video work and performance have allowed me to directly insert my life story into the work, and build along these existing themes. With a multidisciplinary approach, I’ve created a language for this stability and this unraveling that resonates with my reflections on what it feels like to be alive.
The figure is partial from the feet to mid-torso. Two red hands are attached around the waist, displaying different qualities of pain, one through a bubbly surface and the other through engaging with the wound on the side of its body. Various glazes and spray paint are splashed on the brown skin, like tar. Soil fills the vessel of the body and surrounds the piece. Click to view The figure is partial from the feet to mid-torso. Two red hands are attached around the waist, displaying different qualities of pain, one through a bubbly surface and the other through engaging with the wound on the side of its body. Various glazes and spray paint are splashed on the brown skin, like tar. Soil fills the vessel of the body and surrounds the piece. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // Body Stigma - what I am and am not // Ceramic, silk brocade, netting, spray paint // 47” x 18” x 16”

Like A Thorn is a ceramic figure of a Black woman who is an amputee, seated with their legs and the surrounding base as a bed of thorns. Her pose is relaxed and her gaze is fixed ahead. She is wearing a flowing dress, caked and cracking like dried earth. Her skin and surroundings fluctuate between golden bronze, dark brown, and black. Click to view Like A Thorn is a ceramic figure of a Black woman who is an amputee, seated with their legs and the surrounding base as a bed of thorns. Her pose is relaxed and her gaze is fixed ahead. She is wearing a flowing dress, caked and cracking like dried earth. Her skin and surroundings fluctuate between golden bronze, dark brown, and black. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // Like a Thorn // Stoneware, glaze // 37” x 34” x 32”

The representational Black, life-size ceramic sculpture looks like bronze and rich soil. She has short cropped hair and is full-figured. Thorns protrude outward from the gauges in her ears and her body. Fragments of fabric on the thorns on her arms. Click to view The representational Black, life-size ceramic sculpture looks like bronze and rich soil. She has short cropped hair and is full-figured. Thorns protrude outward from the gauges in her ears and her body. Fragments of fabric on the thorns on her arms. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // Tread lightly // Stoneware, metallic stain // 64” x 32” x 18”

Resistance Vessels 1, 2, and 3 are three ceramic vessels constricted within their own nets that are secured to hardware on the wall. The first is a amber color, the second is a bronze, and the third is a black coiled vessel covered in dirt. The nets overlap as the pots pull from different directions. They sit on a white half-circle platform with a bed of dirt underneath them. The dirt covers a majority of the platform and the floor around it. Click to view Resistance Vessels 1, 2, and 3 are three ceramic vessels constricted within their own nets that are secured to hardware on the wall. The first is a amber color, the second is a bronze, and the third is a black coiled vessel covered in dirt. The nets overlap as the pots pull from different directions. They sit on a white half-circle platform with a bed of dirt underneath them. The dirt covers a majority of the platform and the floor around it. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // A Collective Struggle // Wooden platform, ceramic vessels, netting, hardware, dirt

Resistance Vessels 1, 2, and 3 are three ceramic vessels constricted within their own nets that are secured to hardware on the wall. The first is a amber color, the second is a bronze, and the third is a black coiled vessel covered in dirt. The nets overlap as the pots pull from different directions. They sit on a white half-circle platform with a bed of dirt underneath them. The dirt covers a majority of the platform and the floor around it.  Click to view Resistance Vessels 1, 2, and 3 are three ceramic vessels constricted within their own nets that are secured to hardware on the wall. The first is a amber color, the second is a bronze, and the third is a black coiled vessel covered in dirt. The nets overlap as the pots pull from different directions. They sit on a white half-circle platform with a bed of dirt underneath them. The dirt covers a majority of the platform and the floor around it.  Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // A Collective Struggle // Wooden platform, ceramic vessels, netting, hardware, dirt

A brown, tall cylindrical wooden frame holds a black wheelchair seat. Below it, dirt and an array of live plants and tree roots create a forest-like scene. The greenery highlights the red and black berries and fills the bottom half of the structure. Click to view A brown, tall cylindrical wooden frame holds a black wheelchair seat. Below it, dirt and an array of live plants and tree roots create a forest-like scene. The greenery highlights the red and black berries and fills the bottom half of the structure. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // Cycle of Life - We Are Portals To What Is Unseen // Wooden frame, botanicals, deconstructed wheelchair, dirt, tree roots

Victoria Walton // Cycle of Life - We Are Portals To What Is Unseen // Wooden frame, botanicals, deconstructed wheelchair, dirt, tree roots Click to view Victoria Walton // Cycle of Life - We Are Portals To What Is Unseen // Wooden frame, botanicals, deconstructed wheelchair, dirt, tree roots Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // Cycle of Life - We Are Portals To What Is Unseen // Wooden frame, botanicals, deconstructed wheelchair, dirt, tree roots

Black netting pulls across two deep brown diagonal wooden frames. The fabric twists and swoops. There is hardware attached to the wall that secures the fabric, allowing the netting to drape and fall. Click to view Black netting pulls across two deep brown diagonal wooden frames. The fabric twists and swoops. There is hardware attached to the wall that secures the fabric, allowing the netting to drape and fall. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // We Cannot Be Contained // Netting, pine frame, hardware

In this durational performance, a Black person with lighter brown skin and short hair is seen staring into the camera. They comb out their hair into a fro and begin to shave it off. The image becomes complex as the videos are layered over each other. The body is seen from different angles at the same time. This continues until the hair is completely gone and the artist is emotional from remembering moments from the past. Click to view In this durational performance, a Black person with lighter brown skin and short hair is seen staring into the camera. They comb out their hair into a fro and begin to shave it off. The image becomes complex as the videos are layered over each other. The body is seen from different angles at the same time. This continues until the hair is completely gone and the artist is emotional from remembering moments from the past. Full-Screen

Victoria Walton // she doesn’t look sick // 3-channel video durational performance // 10:11