El Samms’ work explores the delicate tension between creation, rupture, and the passage of time, using clay as a metaphor for the trans body: soft, malleable, and constantly in flux. Through intentional disruptions in material, whether in fractured forms or subtle textural shifts, Samms reflects the ongoing negotiation of identity and the resilience found within moments of vulnerability and change. The objects they craft, often incomplete or interrupted, reflect a body reshaped by time, recovery, and the complexities of self-discovery.

Often working in series, Samms captures the unfolding of time in a panoptic sense; an expansive material view that spans across moments, revealing the ongoing, evolving nature of their transition. Each series offers a layered, temporal record, offering a multi-faceted perspective on the body and identity in flux. These objects chronicle the incremental steps towards self-reclamation, speaking to the non-linear progression of healing and self-actualisation.

In their work, Samms embraces the unpredictability of becoming. The sculptures, with their fractured arrangements and evolving structures, serve as metaphors for a body and identity that are never fixed but always expanding. Through this process, Samms reveals how the trans experience is marked by rupture, resilience, and a continuous unfolding, where the act of creating becomes a meditation on the complexities of time, healing, and the ongoing transformation of self.