The Clothespin Mandala project comments on the phenomenon of human body modification, specifically in the form of attaching clothespins to one's body. These circular pencil drawings have actual wooden clothespins secured to their periphery to muse on the contemporary penchant for hanging, piercing and tattooing the body. As such, they raise questions of identity, sexuality and gender, and investigate the connection between pain and pleasure.
Clothespin Mandala VI, 1998
pencils, acrylic, clothespins on canvas and foam core,
24 inches (diameter)
Clothespin Mandala Female Cluster, 1998
pencils, acrylic, clothespins on canvas and foam core,
72 inches x 72 inches
The Bedtime Stories are book-like objects that investigate our human sexual behavior and courtship. Each "book" closes with a brass catch in the front which the viewer is invited to open as if it were a private diary, highlighting the blurred line between the public and the private. Opening the panels of these books reveal parts of the human body and words that are sewn onto fabric in an erogenous context.
Bedtime Stories VI, 1997 (closed)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 23 inches x 21/4 inches
Bedtime Stories VI, 1997 (open)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 46 inches x 4 1/2inches
Hanging By A Thread, 2013
USA, stop-motion animation, 9m55s, English, 16:9, HD
Synopsis:
It's the future, and humanity is but a memory, existing only in scattered pieces. That is, until a pillow's needlepoint rendering of three individuals, collectively known as the Clothespin Freaks, finds the spark of life and surfaces to fulfill their destinies. Once aware of their purpose, the group begins assembling the remains of humanity they see all around them.
Multi-award winning Hanging By A Thread is the first in an upcoming trilogy of animated shorts. The second short, Meeting MacGuffin is currently in production. Expected release is in February 2017.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights, 2005-2008
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", the central characters in these acrylic paintings of futuristic verdant gardens are Button, the artist's dog, and whimsical figures made of clear plastic clothespins, doll's body parts and sewn pieces, called "Clothespin Freaks". Together, they observe surreal, quasi-botanical forms, which a closer inspection reveals them to be human body parts. The disruptive presence of mankind in "paradise" is neutralized through the body's fragmentation--a destructive process but, ultimately, one that may bring harmony to nature.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights III, 2005
acrylic, blood on wood, 12 inches x 12 inches
Clothespin Tarot, 2003-2007
The Clothespin Mandala circular drawings, each bordered by a fringe of actual wooden clothespins, evolved into the Clothespin Tarot. In these 78 pencil and watercolor drawings anthropomorphic figures called "Clothespin Freaks" are introduced and arranged in various traditional Tarot card poses. These subversive principal characters rebel against the establishment of the “suits”. Instead of swords, wands, coins and cups, the 56 Minor Clothespin Freaks make use of hatpins, darners, buttons and thimbles, alternative implements characterized by their feminist references.
Ace of Buttons, 2004
watercolor and color pencil on paper
11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Ace of Darners, 2004
watercolor and color pencil on paper
11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Ace of Hatpins, 2004
watercolor and color pencil on paper
11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Ace of Thimbles, 2004
watercolor and color pencil on paper
11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Hanging By A Thread, 2013, film still: "Vulkeet birds Hitch and Alma creating Pinki".
Sanguine Bedtime Stories, 2000-2002
Resembling medieval reliquaries, these book-like mixed-media objects serve as contemporary contemplation on blood and its myriad association with it like spirituality and mortality. The faded red tones staining the lace, latex and thread on the insides of these diptychs are the artist's blood. Through the process of stitching, embroidering, pinning and binding the blood-stained canvases, and through the use of iodine and gauze attention to the vulnerability as well as the regenerative abilities of our bodies is drawn.
Excerpt from "Intermedial Perception or Fluxing Across the Sensory" by Hannah Higgins.
"Similarly, Catya Plate's Sanguine Bedtime Stories was shown at the Lance Fung Gallery in New York in 2001. It occupies an intermedium between literature (in this case diary writing), sculpture and smell. Visitors smell small vials of blood; the interior receptors of memory fire off while visitors inhabit a red, living-room set whose fleshy tone and tactile walls suggest the interior of the human body. Here, perfuming and sculptural space are brought, literally, into the space of memory of the body and time structurally. It is elastic in space and time, suggesting intermedial points that span this continuum, even as the vials are separable from the room. Perfume and blood share longstanding association in occult philosophy: the combination recalls magic as well as the fundamental basis for the evocative power of perfume in the body's pheromones and scent organs."
Sanguine Bedtime Stories XI, 2001
encasement: blood, acrylic on wood, brass hinges, catch and corners
9 inches x 9 inches x 3½ inches (closed)
Sanguine Bedtime Stories X, 2000 (open)
mixed media on stretched blood-stained fabric
9 inchesx 18 inches x 1¾ inches
Sanguine Bedtime Stories VIII, 2000 (open)
mixed media on stretched blood-stained fabric
9 inchesx 18 inches x 1¾ inches
Clothespin Tarot Artist Book, 2007
Clothespin Tarot is published by the artist in 2007 in a limited edition of 50, based on the Clothespin Tarot drawings. The 86-page hardcover book with text and reproductions of the original drawings is housed in a cloth-bound slipcase with three compartments, holding the book, the card tray, and an original “Clothespin Freak” sitting figure which has movable parts and consists of custom-made clear, plastic clothespins, doll’s body parts and sewn pieces. The 78 Tarot cards, created on an Epson Inkjet Printer, are housed in the two compartments of the tray that has a Velcro closing to keep the cards in place while sliding out the tray. All elements of the work are hand made.
So Soll Ich Meine Zahlen Schreiben (German: Thus Shall I Write My Numbers), 1995
23pp. 43x28cm. 22b&w illustrations
Stephanie Brown review in Artists Newsletter (Publications quarterly), February 1995.
"The title translates as "Thus shall I write my numbers" and the book uses text and images to sum up (oops!) the oppressive experience of Germanic rectitude applied to writing numerals and doing mathematical calculations. Traumatized from an early age by her father's inflexible teaching of these skills, Plate extends personal distaste for numbers into a universal condemnation of an over-abstracted, over-regimented, technology-laden world, symbolized by contorting and dismembering her body to correspond with the shape of the numerals. As a complete innumerate lacking even an O-level in maths I can sympathize. Effectively presented as an oversized arithmetic exercise book with photocopied content and laminated cover".
So Soll Ich Meine Zahlen Schreiben, Cover
So Soll Ich Meine Zahlen Schreiben, Page 1
So Soll Ich Meine Zahlen Schreiben, Page 14
Sanguine Bedtime Stories, 2000-2002
Resembling medieval reliquaries, these book-like mixed-media objects serve as contemporary contemplation on blood and its myriad association with it like spirituality and mortality. The faded red tones staining the lace, latex and thread on the insides of these diptychs are the artist's blood. Through the process of stitching, embroidering, pinning and binding the blood-stained canvases, and through the use of iodine and gauze attention to the vulnerability as well as the regenerative abilities of our bodies is drawn.
Excerpt from "Intermedial Perception or Fluxing Across the Sensory" by Hannah Higgins.
"Similarly, Catya Plate's Sanguine Bedtime Stories was shown at the Lance Fung Gallery in New York in 2001. It occupies an intermedium between literature (in this case diary writing), sculpture and smell. Visitors smell small vials of blood; the interior receptors of memory fire off while visitors inhabit a red, living-room set whose fleshy tone and tactile walls suggest the interior of the human body. Here, perfuming and sculptural space are brought, literally, into the space of memory of the body and time structurally. It is elastic in space and time, suggesting intermedial points that span this continuum, even as the vials are separable from the room. Perfume and blood share longstanding association in occult philosophy: the combination recalls magic as well as the fundamental basis for the evocative power of perfume in the body's pheromones and scent organs."
Sanguine Bedtime Stories XII, 2012 (closed)
encasement: fabric fitted over blood-stained and acrylic painted wood, brass hinges, catch and corners
10 inches x 9 inchesx 5 inches
Sanguine Bedtime Stories XII, 2012 (open)
mixed media, blood, pathology slides
10 inches x 18 inches x 2 1/2 inches
Meeting MacGuffin: An Animated Ecological Thriller, 2017
USA, stop-motion animation, English, 16:9, HD
Synopsis:
In a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has fallen apart, a group of scientists and an animated sign complete the construction of a new human race and meet a groundhog climatologist who prepares them for their mission to restore balance to the decimated Earth.
Meeting MacGuffin is the sequel to the multi-award-winning animated stop-motion film Hanging By A Thread (2013), and second in a trilogy of shorts, all written, animated and directed by Catya Plate.
Animated gif, Meeting MacGuffin: LF and Homeys about to step through a portal.
Clothespin Tarot, 2003-2007
The Clothespin Mandala circular drawings, each bordered by a fringe of actual wooden clothespins, evolved into the Clothespin Tarot. In these 78 pencil and watercolor drawings anthropomorphic figures called "Clothespin Freaks" are introduced and arranged in various traditional Tarot card poses. These subversive principal characters rebel against the establishment of the “suits”. Instead of swords, wands, coins and cups, the 56 Minor Clothespin Freaks make use of hatpins, darners, buttons and thimbles, alternative implements characterized by their feminist references.
Empress, 2003
watercolor and color pencil on paper, 11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Hermit, 2003
watercolor and color pencil on paper, 11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Strength, 2003
watercolor and color pencil on paper, 11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Wheel of Fortune, 2003
watercolor and color pencil on paper, 11 inches x 7 1/4inches
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights, 2005-2008
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", the central characters in these acrylic paintings of futuristic verdant gardens are Button, the artist's dog, and whimsical figures made of clear plastic clothespins, doll's body parts and sewn pieces, called "Clothespin Freaks". Together, they observe surreal, quasi-botanical forms, which a closer inspection reveals them to be human body parts. The disruptive presence of mankind in "paradise" is neutralized through the body's fragmentation--a destructive process but, ultimately, one that may bring harmony to nature.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights VII, 2005
acrylic, blood on wood, 12 inches x 12 inches
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships paintings are a series of diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs. Each painting depicts a specific isolated, dissected human body part from a medical book in painstaking detail and in an oversized fashion on canvas with acrylic paint. The words in the paintings create a dialogue between the individual panels as well as between the panels and the viewer. Literally speaking, the subcutaneous parts are out in the open, but in a deeper sense its cultural and social taboos, like death and sexuality, are being uncovered.
Lub Dub, 2004
Acrylic, mixed media, blood on wood
66 inches x 61 inches x 6 inches (open panels)
Lub Dub, 2004
Acrylic, mixed media on wood
66 inches x 61 inches x 4 inches (closed panels)
Lub Dub, 2004
Acrylic, mixed media on wood
(Detail)
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships are a series of large, mixed media, multi-paneled, interactive paintings that engage different human senses in the process of perception.These paintings can be smelled, touched, tasted, heard and otherwise perceived. They challenge viewers and force them to break away from the conventional way of experiencing art.
Peep Show, 2000
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 132 peep holes, frosted acrylic sheets, brass
85 1/2 inches diameter x 3 inches (closed panels)
Peep Show, 2000
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 132 peep holes, frosted acrylic sheets, brass
85 1/2 inches diameter x 121 1/2 inches x 3 inches (open panels)
Peep Show, 2000
Artist looking through peephole. (Detail)
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights, 2005-2008
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", the central characters in these acrylic paintings of futuristic verdant gardens are Button, the artist's dog, and whimsical figures made of clear plastic clothespins, doll's body parts and sewn pieces, called "Clothespin Freaks". Together, they observe surreal, quasi-botanical forms, which a closer inspection reveals them to be human body parts. The disruptive presence of mankind in "paradise" is neutralized through the body's fragmentation--a destructive process but, ultimately, one that may bring harmony to nature.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights X, 2005
acrylic, blood on wood, 12 inches x 12 inches
In the Suture Drawings the "Clothespin Freaks" comment on cloning, wombs, electricity and some other quasi science, with some physiological bits and pieces added for good measure.
Suture Drawings I, 2009
watercolor, colored pencil and blood on paper, sutures, buttons
12 ¼ inches x 49 inches
Suture Drawings II, 2009
watercolor, colored pencil and blood on paper, sutures, buttons
13 inches x 54 1/2 inches
The Bedtime Stories are book-like objects that investigate our human sexual behavior and courtship. Each "book" closes with a brass catch in the front which the viewer is invited to open as if it were a private diary, highlighting the blurred line between the public and the private. Openingthe panels of these books reveal parts of the human body and words that are sewn onto fabric in an erogenous context.
Bedtime Stories X, 1998 (closed)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 23 inches x 21/4 inches
Bedtime Stories X, 1998 (open)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 46 inches x 4 1/2inches
Bedtime Stories XI, 1998 (closed)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 23 inches x 21/4 inches
Bedtime Stories Xi, 1998 (open)
mixed media and wood,
23 inches x 46 inches x 4 1/2inches
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships paintings are a series of diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs. Each painting depicts a specific isolated, dissected human body part from a medical book in painstaking detail and in an oversized fashion on canvas with acrylic paint. The words in the paintings create a dialogue between the individual panels as well as between the panels and the viewer. The numbers refer to the classification system used in medical books. Literally speaking, the subcutaneous parts are out in the open, but in a deeper sense its cultural and social taboos, like death and sexuality, are being uncovered.
Look Into My Eyes, 1995
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
26 inches x 60 inches
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships are a series of large, mixed media, multi-paneled, interactive paintings that engage different human senses in the process of perception. These paintings can be smelled, touched, tasted, heard and otherwise perceived. They challenge viewers and force them to break away from the conventional way of experiencing art.
1001 Smells, 1997
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 1,000 plastic bottles with essences
91 inches x 62 1/2 inches x 3 1/2 inches (closed panels)
1001 Smells, 1997
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 1,000 plastic bottles with essences
91 inches x 120 inches x 3 1/2 inches (open panels)
1001 Smells, 1997
Artist smelling scent. (Detail)
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships are a series of large, mixed media, multi-paneled, interactive paintings that engage different human senses in the process of perception.These paintings can be smelled, touched, tasted, heard and otherwise perceived. They challenge viewers and force them to break away from the conventional way of experiencing art.
Play It By Ear, 2002
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 64 digitized sounds
70 1/2 inches x 70 inches x 4 inches (closed panels)
Play It By Ear, 2002
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 64 digitized sounds
70 1/2 inches x 140 inches x 4 inches (open panels)
Play It By Ear, 2002
Artist pushing button to hear sound. (Detail)
Ars Moriendi in Numbers, 1993-1994
The Ars Moriendi in Numbers series (Latin for 'Art of Dying...') consists of nine unstretched and embroidered canvases which hang from the wall like shrouds. This work is inspired by the 15th Century Ars Moriendi, the so-called European Book of The Dead, which consists of literary and visual instructions for the dying individual to prepare the soul for impending death. In these paintings I juxtapose the spiritual wisdom from the Middle Ages with our modern society's obsession with technology and immortality, which is symbolised by the Hindu-Arabic numbers. The result is an amalgamation of cross-cultural burial rites with personal images of death hinting that our century is not so different from the Middle Ages. Today's AIDS epidemic might pick out anyone as its victim, just as the Plague did then.
Ars Moriendi in 0, 1993
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 1, 1994
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 2, 1993
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 3, 1994
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 4, 1993
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 5, 1994
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 6 & 9, 1993
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 7, 1994
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Ars Moriendi in 8, 1993
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
60 inches x 49 inches
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights, 2005-2008
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", the central characters in these acrylic paintings of futuristic verdant gardens are Button, the artist's dog, and whimsical figures made of clear plastic clothespins, doll's body parts and sewn pieces, called "Clothespin Freaks". Together, they observe surreal, quasi-botanical forms, which a closer inspection reveals them to be human body parts. The disruptive presence of mankind in "paradise" is neutralized through the body's fragmentation--a destructive process but, ultimately, one that may bring harmony to nature.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights XIV, 2006
acrylic, blood on wood, 12 inches x 12 inches
The Reading, 2010
USA, stop-motion animation, miniDV, 22m, 4:3
Synopsis: A woman is awakened from a slumber and summoned to the door by a mysterious visitor to attend a most extraordinary "Reading".
The Reading is Catya Plate's first stop-motion animated short film. It is based on her Clothespin Tarot Artist Book and her "Clothespin Freaks" characters that she has created over a period of ten years.
Animated gif, The Reading: Finger puppet is being chased by the Page of Hatpins.
Trailer, The Reading
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships paintings are a series of diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs. Each painting depicts a specific isolated, dissected human body part from a medical book in painstaking detail and in an oversized fashion on canvas with acrylic paint. The words in the paintings create a dialogue between the individual panels as well as between the panels and the viewer. The numbers refer to the classification system used in medical books. Literally speaking, the subcutaneous parts are out in the open, but in a deeper sense its cultural and social taboos, like death and sexuality, are being uncovered.
Listen To Me! Talk To Me, 1995
acrylic, mixed media on canvas
50 inchesx 63 3/4 inches
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships paintings are a series of diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs. Each painting depicts a specific isolated, dissected human body part from a medical book in painstaking detail and in an oversized fashion on canvas with acrylic paint. The words in the paintings create a dialogue between the individual panels as well as between the panels and the viewer. The numbers refer to the classification system used in medical books. Literally speaking, the subcutaneous parts are out in the open, but in a deeper sense its cultural and social taboos, like death and sexuality, are being uncovered.
The Ten Commandments of The Foot, 1996
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
84 inches x 24 inches x 4 inches (closed panels)
The Ten Commandments of The Foot, 1996
Acrylic, mixed media on canvas
84 inches x 72 inches x 2 inches (open panels)
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships are a series of large, mixed media, multi-paneled, interactive paintings that engage different human senses in the process of perception.These paintings can be smelled, touched, tasted, heard and otherwise perceived. They challenge viewers and force them to break away from the conventional way of experiencing art.
Touchy Subjects, 1998
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 4,000 nails, 114 touchable items, Braille labels
91 inches x 80 inches x 4 inches (closed panels)
Touchy Subjects, 1998
Artist touching item 84. (Detail)
Touchy Subjects, 1998
Acrylic, mixed media on wood and canvas, 4,000 nails, 114 touchable items, Braille labels
91 inches x 160 inches x 2 inches (open panels)
Anatomic Relationships, 1995-2004
The Anatomic Relationships paintings are a series of diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs. Each painting depicts a specific isolated, dissected human body part from a medical book in painstaking detail and in an oversized fashion on canvas with acrylic paint. The words in the paintings create a dialogue between the individual panels as well as between the panels and the viewer. The numbers refer to the classification system used in medical books. Literally speaking, the subcutaneous parts are out in the open, but in a deeper sense its cultural and social taboos, like death and sexuality, are being uncovered.
Tribulations Of Barbie®, Or The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach, 1996
Acrylic, mixed media and Barbie doll heads
84 inches x 42 inches x 4 inches (closed panels)
Tribulations Of Barbie®, Or The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach, 1996
Acrylic, mixed media and Barbie doll heads
84 inches x 84 inches x 2 inches (open panels)
In the Clothespin Freaks Cloning Sculptures the "Clothespin Freaks" comment on cloning, wombs, electricity and some other quasi science, with some physiological bits and pieces added for good measure.
Hive Mind, 2009
Mixed media, fabric and "Clothespin Freaks" figures
7 inches x 30 inches x 30 inches
Hive Mind, 2009 (Detail)
The Clothespin Mandala project comments on the phenomenon of human body modification, specifically in the form of attaching clothespins to one's body. These circular pencil drawings have actual wooden clothespins secured to their periphery to muse on the contemporary penchant for hanging, piercing and tattooing the body. As such, they raise questions of identity, sexuality and gender, and investigate the connection between pain and pleasure.
Clothespin Mandala XIII, 1998
pencils, acrylic, clothespins on canvas and foam core,
24 inches (diameter)
Clothespin Mandala Male Cluster, 1998
pencils, acrylic, clothespins on canvas and foam core,
72 inches x 72 inches
Threads: Interweaving Textu[r]al Meaning, Alexander Campos, Executive Director, Center for Book Arts, 2009.
"The 'Clothespin Freaks Portraits' consist of oval-shape embroidered portraits on fabric, depicting god-like characters that can be seen as protectors of body parts and organs such a windpipe, foot, kidney, brain, pelvis, etc. In an ironic way, these so-called freaks, having a sacred quality to them, similar to patron saints, are actually more of a memorial or tribute, like a headstone. For example, the dates "16638-16792", embroidered at the bottom of "Kidney Spotter", can be seen as demarcating the dates this particular freak lived. These portraits are both icon and memorial, bridging our desires (hope) and losses (fears)."
Brain Grabber, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Foot Licker, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Head Rider, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Jaw Jumper, 2009
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Kidney Spotter, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Peeper Seeker, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
Pelvis Catcher, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
First Encounter, 2010
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
16 inches x 20 inches by 2 inches
Windpipe Whisperer, 2008
Fabric, thread, polyester fiber
10 inches x 8 inches by 1 inches
In the Clothespin Freaks Cloning Sculptures the "Clothespin Freaks" comment on cloning, wombs, electricity and some other quasi science, with some physiological bits and pieces added for good measure.
Cloning Ring, 2008
Mixed media, fabric, "Clothespin Freaks" figures (clear plastic clothespins, dolls' body parts and sewn pieces)
7 inches x 8 inches diameter
Cloning Y, 2008
Mixed media, fabric, "Clothespin Freaks" figures (clear plastic clothespins, dolls' body parts and sewn pieces)
7 inches x 13 inches x 12 inches
Cloning X, 2008
Mixed media, fabric, "Clothespin Freaks" figures (clear plastic clothespins, dolls' body parts and sewn pieces)
7 inches x 13 inches x 13 inches
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights, 2005-2008
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden Of Earthly Delights", the central characters in these acrylic paintings of futuristic verdant gardens are Button, the artist's dog, and whimsical figures made of clear plastic clothespins, doll's body parts and sewn pieces, called "Clothespin Freaks". Together, they observe surreal, quasi-botanical forms, which a closer inspection reveals them to be human body parts. The disruptive presence of mankind in "paradise" is neutralized through the body's fragmentation--a destructive process but, ultimately, one that may bring harmony to nature.
Button In The Garden Of Earthly Delights XV, 2007
acrylic, blood on wood, 48 inches x 48 inches
In Greening The Numbers each life-size, paper, resin-covered Hindu-Arabic number is wired to a metal fence framing. Each of these paper numbers depicts a human body in motion that adapts to its specific numerical shape. The human body, covered with a skin of wallpaper flowers, walks, jumps, crawls, and runs into the numbers in order to reconcile the nature of the concrete body with the nature of pure abstraction. These bodies are missing their heads because this is where the viewer's interaction comes into the picture. Just like in an amusement park, where participants put their heads through cut-out oval of a mostly comic cardboard personality, here too, viewers are invited to "complete the picture" through proactive engagement.
Greening The Numbers 1, 1993
Acrylic, paper, resin, metal, wire
120 inches x 48 inches x 3 inches
Greening The Numbers 3, 1993
Acrylic, paper, resin, metal, wire
120 inches x 48 inches x 3 inches
Greening The Numbers 5, 1993
Acrylic, paper, resin, metal, wire
120 inches x 48 inches x 3 inches
