Artist Interprets His Social Anxiety Issues with Human-Bird Hybrid Ceramic Sculptures

Calvin Ma is a sculptor living in San Francisco, USA. He creates ceramic imaginative characters usually a combination of human figures and birds to explore his personal struggles with social anxiety. As an adult, he had hard time spending time in crowded places and social settings. To keep himself entertained he turned to toys and created adventurous stories around them which eventually turned in to passion for his work.

"The avian elements act as suits of armor, protecting the person from the outside world, and reflect Ma’s personality in fight or flight situations. Carefully articulated feathers cover the surface of each sculpture, from the mask-like bird headdresses to the arms and torso of the humanoid figure" - via.

He is doing a solo exhibition at Antler Gallery, Portland, OR on November 28th. You can find out more details on the show and other future events here. To see more of the artist's work visit him on Instagram.