Iuliia Iarova uses sculpture as a visual language to explore the connection between bodily experiences, emotions and memories. The main themes behind her work revolve around sentiment, distress, abjection and the body. Through the combination of different materials and forms, her work explores the boundaries between the pleasant and repulsive, intending to provoke a sense of unease that challenges the viewer.
Sexual assault is an all too common occurrence, affecting many people across the world. It is an incredibly sensitive and painful topic for survivors. With victims struggling to come forward and talk about it, they often find themselves suffering in silence. The few who do speak out are often met with disbelief. This piece of work acts as a release, lifting the burden and silently sharing the trauma with the public. The work contains tears collected from the artist, herself a sexual assault survivor. Bottled up in a small glass retort, these tears are left to slowly evaporate into the gallery space, finally allowing her to let go of the anguish that she has carried with her for many years.