A Hero’s Journey (2013 - ongoing)
A Hero’s Journey is an ongoing series of sculptural work constructed predominately from salvaged cardboard – a ”poor-man’s” material loaded with social contents. I sparsely decorated the cardboard with found kitsch material such as fake flowers, colored duct tape and metallic spray paint. Using such material, I challenge art historical models of monument construction. The embellishments bestow a sophisticated visual coherence in the material, whereby viewers are invited to gain a new appreciation for the material and its contents. Through repurposing, this work achieves an alchemical stature that challenges the notion of trash and treasure. My intention in doing this is to awaken the human consciousness to the realities of society as it relates to human suffering that we ignore.
Conceptually, this series of work is informed by the notion of the “celebration” as it relates to the return of the “broken man” into society, specifically from institutions of reform. I am interested in the ideas surrounding rite of passage and/or an initiation of boys and men within various under-privileged societies. This work represents struggle, conflict and celebration.