By Emma McAdam-Marmont
93cm wide x 63cm high
Float framed in Tassie Oak
Ready to hang.
 
Artist Statement – Figurative Nude Work
Artist Statement – Figurative Nude Work
My latest figurative works turn my attention to the male body, exploring strength, vulnerability and the quieter spaces that exist between the two.
I’ve always been interested in the human form as a landscape. When a body reclines, stretches or folds into itself, it becomes a series of shapes, contours and shifting planes. In these works, the male body becomes both powerful and exposed. Muscle and structure are present, but they are softened by the way the figures rest.
 
Traditionally, the male form is so often represented through strength, action and control. I wanted to explore something quieter. These men are not performing strength or masculinity. They are simply still. Reclined, unguarded and comfortable within their own bodies.
 
There is an intimacy to that stillness, but the works are not intended to be overtly sexual. For me, they are about presence and vulnerability, and about allowing the male body to occupy a softer visual space without losing its strength.
 
I build the figures through layered washes, sponges and loose, gestural marks. Paint is allowed to run, bleed and disappear. Some areas are carefully resolved while others are barely suggested. Skin becomes colour, shadow and movement rather than something I am trying to render perfectly.
 
Up close, the paintings can feel almost abstract: drips, broken edges, washes and fragments of colour. Step back and the body comes together. I love that tension between something raw and something controlled, between what is revealed and what is left unresolved.
 
These works are ultimately an exploration of masculinity without performance. Strength can exist alongside softness. Confidence can exist alongside vulnerability. The body doesn’t need to be heroic, posed or guarded to feel powerful.
 
Sometimes simply being still is enough.