Benjamin Phillips' sculptures are not to scale, but they still possess a striking accuracy of the human form.
Phillips says his figures, made from Forton plaster, resin, acrylic, fiberglass, silicone, and lead, are meant to
demonstrate the sense of vulnerability that comes with age.
The ASU graduate student's latest exhibition, "Reflection Pool", showcases his figurative sculptures and charcoal drawings. The exhibition recently opened in the East Gallery at eye lounge in Phoenix and will host a First Friday reception this week.
His figures are a combination of several parts that he's cast from different human bodies. The intimacy of casting a real person's body parts, he says, adds life into each part of the work.
"I started considering parts, not just the whole form," he says. "Like, what does a man's chest look like as he gets older and it starts looking soft?"
Phillips used bronze in his early work to convey masculinity, but says that the ghostly images more accurately portray the feeling of age and the softening features.
"I started out attempting to portray the way an elderly couple cross a city street -- they dodder and the further they go out into the street, the more fragile they look," Phillips says.
"They do it together, though. One may end up scolding the other for shuffling, but it is a repeated performance that's kind of ridiculous and sad all at the same time."
Phillips is also showing a series of prints titled "... Boys are weird." in the Project Room at the gallery.
Phillips' work will be in eye lounge, at 419 E. Roosevelt St. in Phoenix, through March 12.
