the forms i work with are inspired by the internal and external anatomy of insects and animals. i incorporate my love of nature with the distortion and simplification found in 20th century abstract art and modern digital art. the softness of a digital brush, the otherworldliness of low-poly renders, and the crackling of a compressed image all work within the same balanced chaos of the natural world. mutation and cyclical relationships are key aspects of both and my work reflects that.
though i work in abstract sculpture, it is essential that my work does not alienate an audience. many of my pieces are built to live beyond the gallery, as i understand the “white cube” to be a place of tension and hierarchy. i’ve also taken to making my own plinths or otherwise opting for the floor.
common themes i address in my work are environmentalism, mental health, gender and sexuality, and disability. as a Mad non-binary person i often feel i have to explain my identity before i am taken seriously. though i may touch on it, my work is first and foremost a denial of sanity and cisnormativity. i, like other marginalized people, feel no need to justify what i am to comfort others.
a large part of my work is experimenting with different glazing techniques and recipes. i get satisfaction from the more precise chemical work of glaze mixing and the mystery of it’s outcomes. my recent work uses experiments with unconventional non-ceramic materials, including building materials such as metal, industrial spray foam, wood, and spackling paste. i find having these points of reference immediately connects the audience to a piece.
through my work i give complex and muddled ideas the complex and muddled form they deserve. i aim to be a jumping off point for conversation. when people see my work, my goal is for them to leave more curious and hopefully, more knowledgeable.
mickey vescera (b. 1999) is a non-binary ceramicist, sculptor, and writer born and raised on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (so-called Vancouver, BC). it is a graduate from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and has been working in clay since 2018.
vescera has been involved in multiple exhibitions in the lower mainland. their first were shown at ECUAD: “From Ground to Table” in December 2019, which focused on tableware-adjacent works; “Surface Level'' in March 2021, an examination of surface treatments in functional and sculptural ceramics; and ECUAD’s May 2021 Graduation Show, where it showed part of it’s series “in hindsight of the future”. After graduating, vescera finished a 2021-2022 residency at PoMoArts in Port Moody where they exhibited their series “concrete marrow”. it is currently working out of so-called Vancouver’s James Black Gallery.
vescera has been published in two ECUAD-based magazines: the 2018 edition of Woo and the 2019 edition of ECUAD Compiler, a collaboration with their print media class. their work is also included in the 2021 edition of the non-binary focused art zine from Ra Dahan, MYXCES, and the 2024 volume of Here & Now, edited by Licia Canton. vescera has released three independent zines (rat king (2018), Hate in 123 Colours (2019), and Resting in Power: Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018 (2019)) and one collaboration zine-poster with print artist Mickey Morgan (ECUAD Donor Map: Mapping East Van (2020)).