Mixed Media on Canvas: Acrylic, Twine, Brass Compression Sleeves, Ribbon, Wire. 48″ x 36″
Fixation is as much about the subjects in this painting as it is the onlookers observing the scene. We, the audience, fixate on other peoples’ lives. We hastily make assumptions and cast judgments on strangers, with the haughty presumption that we understand what we see. This fixation feeds our appetite for entertainment, which in turn offers us distraction from our own lives. In this painting, the two subjects may be acquaintances, intimates, or perhaps strangers. What we perceive them to be is a projection of who we are rather than what they are. Our eyes are clouded by our experiences, emotions and conditioning. For some, the subject on the right lustfully fixates on the stranger on the left, who feigns indifference. For others, the subject on the left deliberately ensnares the subject on the right. And again, for others, both subjects are processing what just transpired: an argument, a disclosure of the truth, or an overt flirtation. Ultimately, the audience sees what they want to see: indignation, apathy or yearning.
A Note on the Process:
The headdress is largely composed of twine, which I braided and knotted in various ways: fishtail, josephine (pretzel) knot, soloman bar and bush bar. The twine is embellished with brass compression sleeves, gold wire and gold ribbon.
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