“Interdisciplinary artist and ceramist Maggie Adams investigates the [queer] body through tactile experiences with clay, textiles, and traditional craft materials. Drawing from a childhood spent observing the mysterious and enchanting visions of scans their father examined in his MRI clinic, Adams’s practice is an exploratory investigation that traverses a digestive tract of self-discovery. Through pinching, poking, and pouring, Adams manipulates the normative forms of cups, bowls, and vessels to reveal the infinite and cyclical potential of clay; and in turn, nurtures their own queer body and malleable biology. 

 

In Skin Hunger, Adams peels open their body, allowing other explorers to have a taste of the allegory of ritualistic ingestion. Sound, clay, lace, and active touch come together in a multisensory experience that provokes bonding between the self and the other, the inside and out. 

 

Of their work, Adams writes, “For me, the act of making this work is radical, rooted in my commitment to discovering joy in a body and identity that many in this world are actively trying to eradicate.” Skin Hunger encourages us to do the same, liberating the parts of ourselves and others that are vulnerable and insulated–our very guts, our deepest needs. Our tender curiosity is given room to breathe and bubble in our hands as we play with the materials and revel in the natural processes happening in and around us.” 

​

—Embry Valentino O’Leary