About

 
 

INTRODUCTION BY Taous Dahmani


Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark grew up surrounded by curious and creative family members which led her to extend her interest in visual arts by pursuing a fine art higher education at Central Saint Martins and Chelsea School of Art. During these formative years, D’Clark kept exploring techniques and forms, juggling different mediums such as painting, drawing, and photography. Her investigations of various visual languages drove her to pursue the possibilities of hyperrealism. Fascinated by the human form—and especially the human face—D’Clark decided to transform traditional portraiture into mask-like tridimensional sculptures. In order to achieve this unique life-like bodily realism D’Clark ended up creating her own process. Combining live casting and 3D printing, she produced detailed human-like sculptures—sometimes including human hair or made-for-human elements such as nail varnish. 

Her first notable work, Untitled (2016) was the result of a 3-month long methodological pursuit involving prepping her sitter’s skin, using latex silicon to make a mould, and then recasting in silicon. Silicone pigments and Sleek make-up would enable her to render in the most accurate way skin colour: reproducing, in all its complexity, shades, and tones. Inspired by a close circle of peers, friends, and family members, and motivated by the idea of portraying kinship, D’Clark first worked with sitters she knew well—which led her to describe her practice as “sculpting with eyes closed and mind open”. Acquainted with the sitters’ features, she creates a collection of true-to-nature silicon sculptures that enable her to play with the power of representation and perceptions of both race and gender. 

Influenced by body politics theory, she proposes observing the uniqueness of individuals, going beyond the mass considerations of communities. D’Clark’s practice is also playful and her sculptures oscillate between uncanny realness to other-worldly colourful visages. Using scale and size, her work is a reflection of the uniqueness of our multiple selves. D’Clark’s uses intersectional thinking to craft a complex and contemporary representation of womxnhood. 

Aware that monuments and public sculptures are never of women of colour, D’Clark wants to celebrate her anonymous peers: commemorating hidden figures in the public realm.

ACCREDITATIONS INCLUDE:

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (fhea)

  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)

  • MA & pgcert in ACADEMIC PRACTICE iN ART, DESIGN aND COMMUNICATION

  • MA & BA IN FINE ART FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON

INSTITUTIONS:

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON (UAL)

  • London College of Fashion (LCF)

  • British Academy of Jewellery (BAJ)

  • SAE Institute/ICMP

CREATIVE ORGANISATIONS:

  • NSEAD: The National Society for Education in Art and Design (Big Landscape)

  • NSEAD: UNITED BLACK ART EDUCATORS (UBAE) Network

  • NSEAD: Anti-Racist Art Education Action (ARAE) Group

  • SHAPE ARTS — Disability Arts Movement (DAM) Pavillion @ Venice Biennale

  • RUNNYMEDE TRUST — Visualise: Race and Inclusion in Art Education

  • Shades of Noir: The Knowledge Exchange Centre for Race and Practice-Based Social Justice — Emancipatory Consultancy and Project Manager

Awards

  • Aesthetica Art Prize - Finalist 2025

  • ‘Best Component’ Cast Metals Federation (CMF) Awards 2024

  • Forbes 30 Under 30 (Arts and Culture), Europe 2024

  • EJI Commission Award, 2023/24

  • BAD ART Presents ‘Black Artist Grant’, 2021

  • Maddox Award (Next Big Thing) ‘Sculpture Category’, 2021

  • Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Grant Award, Fevered Sleep, 2020

  • Canary Wharf, 10k Commission Award, 2019

  • Craft Council, Hothouse Programme, 2019

  • The University of the Arts London, Xhibit, 2018

  • Cowling and Wilcox, Featured Artist, 2016

  • Carshalton High School for Girls, Commission Award, 2013

  • Social Mobility Foundation, Aspiring Professional Award, 2012

  • Jack Petchy Award, Outstanding Achievement, 2012