Artwork Description
Naima (Blue)
Dimensions: 48 x 28 x 42″
Year: 2016
Media: cast bronze
Mavis McClure’s cast bronze sculpture, Naima, uses the female body as a site for a contemporary exploration of femininity and sexuality, where the figure’s bare body is reminiscent of a timeless depiction of the classical nude sculpture. Cohesive with McClure’s use of ambiguous ethnicity, the figure’s lack of distinguishable features allows viewers to project qualities of their own identities and to recognize themselves in an otherwise foreign individual. However, rather than being rendered in white marble—which has the ability to erase the nuances of the female body—McClure has constructed the woman, marking a reclamation of her own corporeal property.