Unconventional Care

Unconventional Care (2025), 2.5 feet - by Sandra S. Albers - The sculpture Unconventional Care is a thought-provoking work that blends surrealism with raw, visceral imagery to explore vulnerability, resilience, and the duality of human experience. Created using an alginate mold and painted with acrylic, it captures intricate details, enhancing its lifelike quality. Standing 2.5 feet tall, the piece combines plaster, fabric, and a needle to depict an individual calmly tending to her injured knee. The partially wrapped leg suggests hospitalization or surgery, while the hands: one gloved, one not, create tension between right and wrong actions. The athlete's desire to return to sports as quickly as possible highlights the pressure to recover swiftly, adding urgency to the act of self-repair.

This sculpture is part of a "bad" sculpture project - The sculpture is left unfinished (on purpose), challenging traditional notions of "good" art and inviting viewers to reflect on themes of fortitude, healing, and everyday struggles. Its rough, surreal qualities and unsettling imagery evoke discomfort, mirroring the pain of injury and recovery. By merging vulnerability and resilience, the piece underscores the complexities of the human condition, urging viewers to reconsider perceptions of strength and the often-pressured realities of self-care in the face of urgency.

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