This is a body of works including drawings and sculptures.

The animals and human gures on show in this exhibition are often in a state of transformation or mutation. Prostheses – functioning as tools – emphasize rather than hide the absence of a body part. Wounds are included and are not seen as something that needs to be overcome. The drawings speak of a desire to go on, even when injured. Moreover, Schwindt does not perceive fragility and strength as antagonistic nouns, but rather as closely connected notions which appear together quite often.

On a gurative level the body is not only fragile in a physical or anatomical perspective, but also in a political, social and personal way. According to Schwindt, in a capitalist society it is easy to forget that our bodies are vulnerable because they seem quite abstract and death does not seem to exist – until it actually happens.

Schwindt explores the potential of the fragment to become a new whole by restoring its power. The injured body part should be honoured and it can also be conceived as a pars pro toto metaphor. Some of the sculptures seem to document or even contain movement as a way to preserve moments.

The When She... series of anthropomorphic sculptures, which in a sense resemble excavated antiquities, are made of ceramic mixed with stone. Schwindt is increasingly interested in developing techniques herself and in looking into the intrinsic qualities of materials. The past of a material is of great importance to her; she connects the histories and connotations of two materials, such as steel and wax, by literally bringing them together.

The ceramic sculptures and glass perfume bottles refer to the ancient tradition of o ering di erent objects as gifts to the dead. For Schwindt the idea of the hereafter is a consequence of a desire to preserve life. In that sense her sculptural forms could also be read as containers of life, rendering an abstract idea graspable.

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/24167