Back to Back
Yvonne Singer
October 20, 1984 – April 1, 1985
Yvonne Singer, Back to Back, 1984; hydrocal plaster, burlap, silicone, pigment. 30 wall mounted body fragments, each approximately 44" H x 24" W x 6" D. 20 freestanding figures, each approximately 57" H x 32" W x 7" D
Artist Statement
Back to Back explores the boundaries between public/private and inside/outside, shifting always between the two positions. The installation suggests a tension between presence and absence and questions the relationship between our psychological state and our physical body. The figures are shells, cast from moulds made directly from the naked backs of my husband and I. The mould making and casting process is repetitive, but produces figures that are unique. All the figures are headless and hollow. The expressive gestures of the body shells suggest the presence of the absent physical heads and offer the viewer the imaginative projective placement of their own head. The hollow shells contain the imprint of the absent body. The placement of the figures and the imprint of an absent body suggest an event that has happened or is about to happen; a suspended and elusive moment.
