"Succesful (Trophies)" aims to challenge learned perceptions about success in Americana (The American Dream) using faux animal trophies as a metaphor for the cost of success – both materially and physically.
2022, Mixed media installation with interactive elements, Petting welcome
Currently on view at Payne Gallery, Moravian University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - October 27th - December **
Also on view in this exhibition is Time Flies, 2020
Also on view in this exhibition is Time Flies, 2020
About
Stuffed animals and soft objects are intertwined with my family history and childhood home. Teddy bears and stuffed decorative objects made by my memaw and great aunt line the shelves of my mom’s hutches, and throughout my childhood stuffed animals were my source of inspiration and play. My connection with soft objects has become a way for me to express my concerns and ideas through visual and tactile symbology.
Bridging my childhood and adulthood experiences, I create soft sculpture, plush, site-specific installations, photographs, and video that interpret and challenge binaries, bias, and societal expectations through a feminine queer lens. Many of my recent works use symbolism and text as an accessible entry point for dialogue and acknowledge the rural as a place of contemporary art and culture.
Throughout my rural childhood, I was rewarded for accomplishments by being allowed to pick out a new stuffed animal at the local Country Store. Having no perception of adult life at this early age, I deduced this to success = reward = stuffed animal. Thus, throughout my childhood, I developed a strong attachment to fictional anthropomorphic characters and stuffed animals that offered a sense of achievement, identity, and comfort.
Creating an uncomfortable space made of comfort objects, Succesful (Trophies) showcases a jumble of beheaded and mounted cartoon characters from my formative childhood years and early adult years. The homonym “trophy” is used in this work to denote a success or achievement, while visually referencing a taxidermy animal trophy. With the trophy as a marker of success, and the beheaded character an assault on a soft and gentle object used for its valuable surface appearance, these dichotomies symbolically exist together to challenge binaries and learned perceptions of finite success (successful vs. unsuccessful) in American consumer culture, and the production and consumption (“The Hunt”) required to reach “success” through material wealth.
Stuffed animals in this installation consist of those I have had since childhood, some that I have recently hunted down, and others that I have made by hand. Some of these trophied plushies were rare or vintage collectables before I reconfigured them. The hunting and consuming practice of shopping for materials to create this exhibition is as much a part of the concept as the process. What must be consumed to reach a success? What must be sacrificed to achieve a goal? What makes something valuable? For me, the process of cutting apart beloved stuffed animals or animals that I have paid for is a violent and horrifying assault on my memories, my comfort, and challenges the way that I normally handle materials in the studio and in life. In this work, I am challenging my developed ideas of success by violating my personal commitment to treasuring stuffed animals – consuming, destroying, and dislocating them.
In addition to my personal relationship to animal trophies – seeing them in my hometown dentist’s office, Church retreats, and at stores like Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s– animal trophies exist throughout history around the world for a myriad of reasons and purposes that range from collecting and keeping parts of an animal consumed for food, to population control, to supporting economies that rely on the trade of local resources, to controversial and often illegal trophy hunting. Faux stuffed animal trophies have recently become a popular decoration for children’s rooms – now mass produced and sold at stores like Target, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels. What are the implications of having a faux severed and mounted stuffed animal head hanging in a child’s room? Is it cute? Is it grotesque? Is it comforting? How does context and personal experience affect or challenge any or all perspectives related to these topics?
By presenting personal subject matter using recognizable symbols of popular culture, I’m hoping to make this work more accessible to a wider audience and spark new conversations and curiosities. What does success look like to you?
History Summaries and Intention
My intention with this work is to eliminate bias and consider all perspectives on the concerns presented. By presenting a possibly grotesque subject matter in a cute and accessible way, I’m hoping to open up the conversation to a wider audience. Below are a culmination of personal research and experiences on the subject matter of trophy hunting - which I have used as a metaphor in this exhibition as a perceived success.
A Short History of North American Trophy Hunting
A Short History of Trophy Hunting Around the World
Faux Trophy Heads in Kid's rooms?
How Production and Consumption Shape Ideas of Success in Consumer Culture
Personal Trophy making and short voluntary performance with THECOLORG
I will be holding a workshop titled Work+Shop+Work on Wednesday, November 16th from 4:30-6pm at Payne Gallery, Moravian University. This workshop is open to current students enrolled at Moravian University.
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About
Work+Shop+Work is a participatory “making” workshop focused on ideas of materials, production, and consumption. With this workshop, I will be sharing the material gathering and physical making process of my studio practice in a performative atmosphere where participants are encouraged to create their own piece from provided materials.
Work+Shop+Work is a participatory “making” workshop focused on ideas of materials, production, and consumption. With this workshop, I will be sharing the material gathering and physical making process of my studio practice in a performative atmosphere where participants are encouraged to create their own piece from provided materials.