Soft Trope
2020
Fascinated by world-building exemplified in Science Fiction written and film-based works, Cecilia Judge creates sculptures that appear to be from the universe next-door; while there are signals or icons that are recognizable, the compositions and the juxtaposition of materials and icons are unusual enough to imply that the viewer is witnessing something completely foreign.
Cecilia works intuitively with materials that are unexpected in SciFi based works or discussions, such as fabric and yarn, to create works that reflect various human themes that SciFi narratives often incorporate such as, artificial, organic, and apparently organic matter, as well as themes of identity, violence, and control. Each work is crafted to elicit both comfort and discomfort. The specific theme of extra-dimensional beings using lures to bait humans, attributed to the writer Philip K Dick, is extrapolated on with eye-catching objects suspended by fish hooks, that can be unsettling when further examined. The use of gold subtly implies a sense of divinity or celestial energy that these ambiguous forces could be interpreted as. While the inspiration for these works come from narratives, Cecilia focuses more on emotive responses, by characters and readers, alike. These works feature icons of the luxurious, comforting, and romantic contrasting against sharp icons and implied violence in a way that is a step removed from reality and in that way, easier to digest as the question of comfort becomes one of desire, and how comfort as a sense of security can be a trap.
