Jess Riva Cooper

In my travels, I came across Jess Riva Cooper's work. I was immediately enthralled by it.

The surreal nature of the pieces piqued my interest the moment I saw them. The lack of colour tricks your eye into believing that these sculptures are simple at first glance, but once the viewer is given a moment to observe, they discover that there is almost too much detail within the piece to comprehend!

I enjoy the way that these sculptures involve an abundance of nature, and the way that this nature is directly involved with a human figure. But not in a traditional/pretty way. 

Jess Riva Cooper's sculptures are incredibly surreal, and although they are incredibly beautiful, they are almost uncomfortable to look at for too long due to the fact that the nature is growing over the women's faces.

Possibly suffocating/strangling them.

I enjoy this idea that nature is overtaking humans.

I feel that Riva Cooper's work relates back to Anj Smith's art, in the way that it is encompassing nature atop a woman's head. In a way that is partially beautiful, and partially shocking/ugly.

The empty eyes in this piece make it difficult to determine the woman's expression, but the open/partially concealed mouth suggests that she is desperate and uncomfortable.

I am incredibly inspired by Riva Cooper's work and 

intend to take influence from her work onto my own.

I am also thrilled with the coincidence that her sculptures slope at the shoulders like a bust sculpt, or a mannequin head which I am already working with. 

More of Riva Cooper's work:

I also enjoy how Riva Cooper incorporates 2D and 3D art into her sculptures. Some of the natural features are 3D, but you can see in this image that some of the stems, flowers and brown vines are painted on. This gives a nice dynamic contrast between tactile and flat.