Part and Particle: Changing Bodies

Part and Particle: Changing Bodies disrupts and destabilizes the accepted body: a girl dances on three of the same foot, nipples look out at the viewer like eyes, and cow teeth become the holy crown of a fearful Sphinx. The body is malleable, permeable, and multiple. These forms, like any body, take up physical space and show evidence of their making. The materials I use are dead, the bodies unmoving. Though motionless or frozen, they are active and seeing bodies. They are not slack or indifferent to your eye, but aware of their display. These forms are made up of distinct and separable parts. They imply further bodies, contain voids, balance precariously, and fold impossibly in upon themselves. Boundaries and edges of the body are emphasized and redefined. The touch of hands, tools, and machines has changed matter and made these bodies. Altered through time and action, we are in a constant state of remaking.

Bio

Wills Phillips is a sculptor exploring the body’s relationship to space and material through a variety of processes. He has a deep love of music, art, and the outdoors. Living at Twin Oaks Community, a commune in rural Virginia, and traveling the country in caravans of Deadheads, has shaped his relation to space, people, and the land. He now lives in Portland, Maine. In 2025, he graduated from MECA&D with a BFA in sculpture. When he’s not in the studio, Wills might be dancing with stinky hippies, swimming, or searching the sidewalks, forests, and shoreline.