Wild Sex

by Katie Ellen Fields

This series of five visual works offer a meditation on the ideas of masturbation, libido and the eroticism of plants and the wilderness. My relationship with materials is the most important part of my process, and I often begin making by going for a long walk or sitting with an element; mud, clay, water, flowers or seeds.

When I am at my most limited with space and resources I like to create small objects or works that carry bigger weight, things that can sometimes resemble historical relics or personal treasures. More recently I have created larger works, such as an inclusive garden and outdoor ritual spaces for rest and contemplation.

This year I have thought a lot about solitude and sensuality, and particularly the role solitude plays in the life of those who identify as female. The works created for this issue acknowledge the human as animal, fueled and formed by vegetation and climate, and the solo pleasures which can come from these embraces. 

Katie Ellen Fields studied art at the University of Northampton and horticulture at Shuttleworth College, Bedford. She has exhibited and performed throughout the UK; her studio and allotment are in Milton Keynes. Her practice explores the subject of animism through installations, performance, object-making, painting, natural pigments and gardening.