Thought 1933

Yannoulis Chalepas fashioned this plaster sculpture called ‘Thought’. It’s a very heavy piece and the weight of that plaster really makes me think about the nature of sculpture – it’s just so material, so physical, so earthbound. Can you feel the coolness of the plaster, the roughness of its surface? I can. I can also feel the weight of the figures’ thoughts pressing down on them. Their faces are heavy with sadness and introspection. Making something like this can be an act of love, a form of devotion but it must also be a real labor. It reminds me a little of Rodin, you know? The way he used the sculptural medium to wrestle with emotional states, to try and capture these fleeting moments. In both their work, there’s something so human about that struggle. It’s like they’re saying, ‘I’m here, I’m trying to make sense of it all, just like you.’