Caring About Care: Exploring the Ethics of Care Through Contemporary Sculptural Practice

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the various and open- ended manifestations of care across contemporary sculptural practice. Both the proposed exhibition and the research process detailed throughout illustrate the ways in which experiences of care may be translated into sculptural form to make visible what is often intangible, overlooked, or undervalued. Drawing on the ethics of care, particularly the work of Carol Gilligan and Virginia Held, the research frames care as a relational, embodied, and socially situated practice. These theoretical perspectives guide the selection of artists and artworks that examine a range of manifestations of care, including maternal care and institutional care. The proposed exhibition will be held at Maggie’s Centre in Dundee, a venue dedicated to non-clinical support for people affected by cancer. Employing sensitive curatorial strategies that highlight individual experiences of care, the exhibition seeks to align with Maggie’s ethos, illustrating how sculpture can both reflect and enact ethics of care within a context defined by support, openness, and healing.