I have been interested in using my “painted faces” in some 3 dimensional works. I was inspired to incorporate these photographs in a variety ways, into a body of work that confronted sociopolitical beliefs regarding acceptance, beauty and age. With various three dimensional media, I symbolically represent contrasting objects with themes that are sometimes whimsical but which require thoughtful inspection to reveal deeper interpretations. I also created interactive works that invite the viewer to "re-arrange" the pieces, thus injecting their own thoughts or feelings into the work. Each piece in this series of “self portraits” exemplifies the imaginative vision I have of myself as an artist, challenging acceptance from the world around me.
3 Dimensional
In “Chained and Arranged” I use an old rusted refrigerator door wrapped with a rusted chain with an open lock, symbolically emphasizing stereotypical thoughts about weight and aging. In contrast, I have incorporated the photos of myself into the piece by using them as refrigerator magnets,” attached” chaotically to the door. The observer is invited to re-arrange the magnets in a way that is pleasing
to them, where in they become a creative contributor to the work.
In “Build Me Up or Keep Me Down” I use 18, 4” square blocks, each with 6 different face “parts”
attached. The observer can either build me up, by stacking the blocks to create different faces or keep me down, by arranging them flat, thus injecting their own thoughts or emotions into the piece.
“Once an Icon” symbolically suggests dramatic turns that life can take. After painting myself in an “iconic” style, using layered gouache and gold leaf on masonite, I then cut the painting into fractured shapes. They are displayed “escaping” from a brown paper bag.
“Charmed” speaks of contrasts between, beauty and age, confinement and freedom. The “necklace”
is made from discarded cans that I cut, shaped, embossed and purposefully aged with a rusting agent.
Each “charm” has a small face mounted on it. They are all attached to a rusty chain with wire,
approx. 10” in diam.
