Hung Out To Die 2010-2012


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The title is a play on words to describe this large mixed-media installation constructed of clay, fabric and steel. I make reference to human mortality through the concept of play and toys by using suspended ceramic baseballs and ceramic doll remnants as symbols for universal shortcomings and disasters, whether man-made, or from nature. These white objects are a metaphor for the detritus of broken toys, broken lives, and unfulfilled promise from politics, strife, wars, human intervention or natural disasters. Ephemeral shadows cast by each bundle and the repetition of bundles link tangible and intangible associations. These suspended ghostly white bundles allude to the universal cyclical nature of life and death. The installation evolved from its inception to include hand sculpted ghostly ceramic rag dolls, cloth-like in appearance, to compliment the baseballs and doll body parts. The strength and perfection of the brushed steel stand that alludes to a guillotine provides a stark contrast to the soft, ghostly, suspended fabric bundles.

The Installation Measures 78" H x 66" W x 32" D