Samantha Morrison

The title of Samantha Morrison’s work ‘Can I bite your tongue?’ is a twist on the idiom, ‘biting your tongue’. This work prompts viewers to reject societal exceptions and perceptions, and insinuates the bitterness of having to hold yourself back. The sculpture is an embodiment of societal pressures that seep into every thought, action, and the experience of being silenced as a woman. Women are expected to present themselves accordingly — smile, be soft, and avoid disruption. Over time, these actions become embedded in our bodies. Samantha uses clay, chain, and latex as physical metaphors for this lived experience. Clay acts as the physical weight of expectations, mirroring the muscle memory of experiences felt in the body. The chain is a sign of confinement paired with latex, a suffocating second skin. Samantha’s sculpture becomes a site where this emotion is held, asking viewers to reflect on what might happen if the links are broken and the skin is shed.