Daisy Collingridge’s practice celebrates and interrogates the human form, blending sculpture, photography, and performance to craft a deeply tactile and evocative exploration of the body. Her work delves into the anatomy of flesh, exaggerating limbs and organic forms while rendering the unseen structures of the body into tangible, physical expressions. Fascinated by the notion that we are all composed of internal structures we have little understanding of, Collingridge turns the inside out, transforming the invisible into visible, and pairing the body’s wet, organic reality with the soft, comforting textures of fabric.

Collingridge’s sculptures are crafted from meticulously hand-dyed jersey fabric in hues of pink, ochre, yellow, and orange, mimicking muscle and flesh through a layering process that imbues the soft cloth with a surprising sense of structure and rigidity. These genderless, universal forms emphasize that beneath the surface, all bodies are composed of the same essential elements. By wearing these suits herself, Collingridge animates her creations through performance, allowing her work to straddle the boundaries between costume and creature, static object and dynamic entity.

‘Burt’ represents a further development of the suits, being a bronze sculpture derived from a 3D scan of an original wearable piece. This transformation of fabric into bronze introduces a fascinating tension between softness and unyielding solidity. Collingridge spent time experimenting with the patina to evoke a marbled, meat-like surface, further emphasising the visceral and impermanent qualities of flesh. The material shift amplifies the dualities inherent in her work: “comfort versus unease, organic versus artificial, familiar versus strange.” (Daisy Collingridge)

Collingridge’s practice is deeply aligned with Surrealist traditions, particularly the interplay between the familiar and the fantastical. “It’s about creating a world where there is beauty in the unconventional and uncanny,” she notes, “challenging the viewer’s perception and often evoking a sense of unease.”

The animated personalities Collingridge assigns to her creations - ‘Burt’, ‘Clive’, ‘Dave’, and ‘Hillary’ - reflect Surrealism’s interest in animating the inanimate and dissolving the boundary between reality and imagination. Transformation, both literal and metaphorical, is central to the artist’s work. The wearable sculptures allow the wearer to experience shifts in identity and perspective. The act of wearing - immersing oneself in the heavy, all-encompassing suits - becomes a powerful metaphor for the human condition, offering both comfort and restriction, anonymity and amplified presence.

Collingridge’s sculptures exist in a liminal space, where they embody the Surrealist fascination with metamorphosis and fluidity, straddling multiple states of being: human and other, static and alive, familiar and alien. Her work challenges perceptions while inviting viewers into a world where transformation is not only possible but essential.

Daisy Collingridge (b.1990, UK) is a multidisciplinary artist who graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Fashion Design (2010-2014). In 2016, Collingridge was the international winner of the World of Wearable Arts in New Zealand. Recent exhibitions include a performance as part of the V&A Lates Feminist Futures Programme, group shows at Unit, London and Maif Social Club, Paris, and a solo exhibition at TJ Boulting, London.