My name is Ellie Priest. Coming from the salty air and ocean inspired artisans of Cornwall. Currently studying at Edinburgh college of art, my passions lie within sculpture including modelling, casting and figurative study. Personally, I believe sculpture is a beautiful and expressive way to communicate a story, thought, experience or opinion to its audience. Because of past and current experiences with bullying and mental health, I strive to use my skills to express and represent these in a form of art to channel my mind and create awareness where it is needed.
These mediums create a more physical representation, pulling the audience in to view it from all sorts of angles and see many possible meanings. It doesn’t matter if the audience perceives it as its original representation or not, if they connect or view it in a different light then that’s what matters to me.
In 2020 I began my studies in Art and Design at Penwith College. During the start of the course, I had a clear goal being to show the public true facts of common stereotypes within various mental health subjects. From origami murals to self-casting and sculptural representations of body health, I managed to do just that and represent facts, experiences and opinions through art, but now in a more figurative and 3D way.
‘Congruity & Incongruity’, 2022, revolved around awareness within eating and anorexia, this piece shows a story of healing and strength despite its blatant show of weakness.
‘Self-Identity’, another self-challenging project in 2022, set to push my boundaries in sculpture and refrain holding back on my opinions and worries. Here I expressed all my thoughts and experiences in a language I created on a cast with missing limbs, each representing areas of my body effected by past issues. Getting the opportunity to express all of this without anyone knowing its translation, gave me a sense of validation and power, which is exactly what I want my art to show and feel like in future pieces if not just for me then for others too.
Getting the chance to learn even more within sculpture, professionalism and finding my identity within art is what I hope to get out of my time at ECA.
4 November 2023 at 01:30
Thanks for the introduction. Best regards.