Lot’s Wife. 2018.
Installation: Jesmonite,Resin, Fibre Glass, Trolley Wheels, Metal Bars, Spray Paint, Acrylic Sheet, Bricks, Salt.
I came across some chopped up trees on Telegraph Hill and picked up a piece of a tree trunk that had been cut into slices. I reflected that the dissected tree trunk resembled a tree in its appearance but, as it was no longer connected to the tree, its original source of life, it thus ceased to be a tree, becoming nothing more than a mere object.
My four tree trunk sculptures are composed of casts of the tree trunk I found. The casts were made using jesmonite and have been stacked onto metal frames with wheels which resemble hospital drips and zimmer frames. My other sculptures are acrylic sheets with small plants I found in the cracks of the pavement, glued on using resin. Each one has a printed photo of someone's eyes glued on, like a flyer carelessly attached to the glass pane of a bus stop. There are two transparent, reflective acrylic sheets and between them there are two mirrors which stand back to back. They reflect destroyed bricks and their surroundings create a sense of visual confusion. On the ground, salt has been spread creating a small hill upon which the sculptures stand.
Through my artwork, I meditate on what the source of contemporary morality is and question contemporary moral structures. After the deconstruction of traditional values and the rejection of religious discourse in the public sphere, where is contemporary morality placing its roots? These days there is a high interest in moral and political movements around issues such as feminism, racism, post-colonialism and gentrification. Are these movements nothing more than the morals, culture or opinion of the individual? Can they be used to criticise the culture and morals of other people? Without a clear foundation, can this morality be justified or have any sense of authority? Why is it that contemporary art so readily examines sensitive political and moral issues and yet does not discuss the fundamentals of its own morality?
The irony of contemporary morality is that it has lost its foundation yet continues to actively seek moral justice. This reminds me of a tree trunk cut off from its original source. Or a woman, Lost between Sodom and God.