Abigail Ozora Simpson’s work is drawn from experience and expanded to present universal ideas. Memories are explored and these might reflect cultural values. She hopes to question perceptions and be affective in creating sensation, presence and atmosphere; to embody the work with an ambiguity and an invitation to perceive. Simpson is interested in philosophy over theory and is primarily a maker of objects.
It is crucial that the work has ‘presence’ and that is why the juxtaposition of the sculptures is so important. Not only the physical distance but how they interact emotionally with one another. Her aim has always been to create an object that transcends the physical.
She is interested in the raw visceral properties of the clay and also in juxtaposition: groups of objects, their relationships, either coherent or non-coherent and how the ancient history of ceramics can touch the possibility of pure sculpture.
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My material is primarily clay. Rough, gritty and coarse; porcelain, soft, smooth and fragile; and with the recent additions of recycled clay bags and mixed media. I am drawn to vertical shapes and also opposites…Black and white, strong and delicate, rough and smooth.
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In 2019, Simpson took part in ‘Artists Rooms’ with Richeldis Fine Art and Encounter Contemporary, for which she created an installation consisting of 17 pieces. Since then her work has developed and gained a confidence and maturity, which has led to her pushing the boundaries of the materials.
Working with Ralph Pucci International (co-hosted by Architectural Digest USA), Simpson collaborated with cellist Rubin Kodheli, who has performed with genre defining artists such as Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass, to create a unique performance within a sculptural setting. He stated "I enjoyed performing in the presence of her art immensely".
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For me, the artists hand is crucial. My hands have brought up 3 sons, they have washed and cleaned and scrubbed. They are the work. My relationship with clay has been profound .To take this mud and create. To mix, to wedge, to score, to slip, to coil, to pinch, to scrape.. these processes, different motions leading to an object occupying time and space. This is as important as the finished work and often involves repetitive motion. I now find myself cutting and washing the clay bags, I hang them like washing on the line to dry. I fold them like clothes and I secure them neatly. it is part of my daily life.
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