Held in Suspense

Jesse Birthisel

Held in Suspense

Stoneware ceramic
15.5 x 14 x 14 cm
$500

This work is a double-walled vessel: a carved outer shell that simultaneously conceals and reveals a suspended inner form.
The artist returns repeatedly to questions of embodiment and belonging, exploring the tension of moving through the world while inhabiting a physical presence yet feeling internally distant from oneself. Despite his physical presence, the work reflects an inner experience of feeling small, hesitant, and uncertain, caught between the desire to be present and the anxious impulse to overanalyse what to say, how to act, and whether one is permitted to take up space.
The exterior form operates as both barrier and filter, holding the world at a distance while only partially disclosing what lies within. Through the outer organic lattice, the work considers the dissonance of inhabiting a body that can feel both protective and estranging.
Rather than offering resolution, the work acknowledges an ongoing tension: the search to reconcile inner experience with outward presence, and the unresolved question of whether one can ever feel fully at home within oneself amid the weight of both real and imagined expectations.

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Artworks currently on exhibition can be collected from the gallery at 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000 once the exhibition has concluded. Collection is available during gallery hours: Tuesday to Friday, 12–7pm, and Saturday, 12–4pm.

If you are unable to collect your purchase in person, fortyfivedownstairs can arrange a shipping quote. Please contact us at gallery@fortyfivedownstairs.com to discuss available options.