Multidisciplinary artist Holly Silius presents a new series of stone body sculptures ‘Phantom Feel’, inspired by writer and actor Lio Mehiel’s top surgery. The new series reimagines traditional figurative sculpture with a gender-queer and transmasculine body. All profits will be donated to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression regardless of income and race without facing violence.
Holly Silius is a fast emerging contemporary artist, based between the UK and LA. Silius’ body of work explores the human form, both raw and adorned, from body cast stone sculptures to masks and wearable body jewellery. The duality of raw and adorned mirrors Silius’ background in fine art and SFX.
The title “Phantom Feel” refers to a question Holly Silius posed to Lio Mehiel, whether they still have phantom feelings of their breasts. The question inspired Mehiel to respond with a poem, including the verse “She asks if I have phantom feelings. Whispers from breasts no longer there. I assume yes. Why wouldn’t it be the same as a soldier who lost his limb? That is if I lost something.”
Holly Silius on Phantom Feel:
“I was interested in understanding the way bodies are represented in a sculptural way. Figurative sculptures are historically gender normative, and I believe all bodies should be represented in stone. I wanted to share this as I think it’s beautiful and bold. I wondered how it felt, and knew about the phantom limb feelings. I wanted to share a tangible piece for the viewer’s mind to wander and feel something..”
Photo: Kobe Wagstaff
MORE: www.hollysilius.com
About the artists
British-born artist, Holly Silius, was raised in the northwest of England before moving to London to study SFX makeup at the London College of Fashion. Silius’s interest in makeup was borne from her extensive background in fine-art. Early on, she utilized her training in SFX by working in TV & film as well as the Royal Opera House of London. In 2016, she was invited to exhibit at Tate Britain in a group exhibit for “Late at Tate,” a series of interactive workshops and exhibited work. Private and commercial commissions of her work have led to collaborations with Apple, Yves Tumor, KKW Beauty, and Katie Grand’s The Perfect Magazine. Holly is currently based between the UK and LA.
Lio Mehiel is a gender-queer, transmasculine, Puerto Rican and Greek actor, filmmaker, and conceptual artist based in LA. As a gender-queer artist, Lio’s work explores how we confront the fractured existence of our day, and proposes a queer understanding of time and space as a way to embrace the full range our aliveness. They employ techniques of surreal cinema and movement-based performance to create immersive, celebratory, and unflinchingly intimate works.
