Jonathan Thomson Art

Beach Bodies

These sculptures in terracotta air dry clay are strongly influenced by my growing up on the beach in Australia. The beach is a key part of the Australian imagination and it is now emblematic of the Australian character - laid-back, egalitarian, hedonistic, fit, informal and free.

These figures are a celebration of the joy of youth and reflect the sensual hedonism found on a dazzling clean hot white-sand beach. They embody the sense of ease of people relaxing on the sand, comfortable in their own bodies and communing with nature.

These works give sculptural expression to the seductive pleasures of sun, sea, sand and skin that are enjoyed the world over.

Playing With Dolls

Being human shaped, nude, and in a variety of relaxed, sensual and hedonistic poses means that these works can be arranged into an almost endless number of configurations that are rich with narrative possibility, some more explicitly erotic than others. This is both "playing with dolls" and a form of finding new compositions and new interpretations.