Sculptor Calvin Ma directs his experience of social stress into creative ceramic figurines that combine individual characters with critters. The avian components work as suits of armor, defending the person from the outside world, and reveal Ma’s personality in fight or flight situations. Precisely articulated feathers cover the surface of every sculpture, by the mask-like bird headdresses into the arms and chest of the humanoid figure. In earlier bodies of work, the artist has used houses as his metaphor with windows, walls, and chimneys creating the protective outer shell of each sculpture.
