Leoni Hill
Artist Statement
My work is multi-disciplinary taking the form of kinetic sculpture, performance, video and sound installation. I seek to challenge pre-conceived notions of female sexuality as depicted within patriarchal culture. I use humour, play and laborious construction methods in making art in order to raise questions about the stigmas which surround the social stereo-typing of sexuality. I explore my own personal narratives that are formed by my position as a self-deprecating, yet sexually liberated female in the 21st century, reflecting on failures, sexual fantasies, pleasure and past relationships.
​
I use humour as a tactic to break down the general embarrassment I often feel towards sexual intercourse and sexuality which make these embarrassing experiences at the core of my practice more relatable. The aim is not to dilute the political point in order to make it more palatable and less offensive but to soften up the audience in order to make it more receptive to political critique.
​
I am interested in word play and use misogynistic sexual terminology, slang, innuendoes and derogatory words as inspiration in the development of my ideas and concepts surrounding my practice, giving them a new-found home within the titles of my works. I create a specific aesthetic within my sculptural work by using construction materials and processes, which are associated with predominately male centric industries.
I’m drawn to kinetic mechanisms, as they create a dialogue between materials and object. I use mechanisms that vibrate, jiggle, rotate, churn or continuously overflow my sculptural objects. These movements can mimic the human body and the male and female presence, as they reflect my self-deprecating humour towards failures within my own life.
​
My performance work focuses on what it means to be female. Exploring the everyday, I aim to bring attention back to very basic processes that we no longer notice within our daily lives. I take situations, memories and ideas out of context using repetitive, ritualistic and domestic actions in order to heighten them. I look at perceptions of women as sexual, domestic figures. Through performance, I am attempting to escape the stereotypes associated with growing up and womanhood.
Biography
Leoni Hill (b.1995) is a visual artist who has recently graduated from Belfast School of Art, with a BA in Fine Art Sculpture. Her work is multidisciplinary, mainly taking the form of sculpture, performance, video and sound installation within her current creative practice.
leoni_hill1@icloud.com
