Rayvenn D'Clark's silicone sculpture shortlisted for 2025 Aesthetica Art Prize challenges Black body exclusion.

Rayvenn Shaleigha D'Clark's silicone artwork, Untitled (2016), has made it onto the shortlist for the 2025 Aesthetica Art Prize. D'Clark's artistic approach addresses the historical neglect of women of color in public monuments through detailed anatomical representation. Her creation process spans three months, involving rigorous material experimentation, especially in crafting brown silicone pigments that are seldom found in industry palettes. Critically engaging with Western sculptural traditions that have historically objectified Black bodies, she employs classical forms to highlight marginalized figures. Recently, D'Clark unveiled Mother Vérité, the first public sculpture focused on postpartum recovery, outside St Mary's Hospital's Lindo Wing in London. Her exhibitions include Cob Gallery, 198 CA&L, Nunnery Gallery, V&A, and Guts Gallery, and she has participated in initiatives at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Royal Society of Sculptors, and London Design Biennale. Her work navigates the tension between visibility and absence, occasionally omitting color to question the reliance on skin tone for interpretation. The Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition 2025 is on display at York Art Gallery until January 25.