Latch hooked panty hose in raw walnut frame.
3 x 11 x 1.5”
1999
Panty hose are often worn so the legs look more "natural" and even in tone while covering up hair, scars, etc. and are used here to poke fun at the irony of trying to appear natural by using something synthetic. They are cut up and latch-hooked as a representation of an obsessive and repetitive activity, as well as one that is learned early in childhood. The two tones of panty hose spell out the words "all natural" in a font used frequently in the packaging of beauty products.
Latch hooked panty hose in raw walnut frame.
3 x 11 x 1.5”
1999
Drywall, liquid make up, synthetic hair
22 x 28 x 3”
1997
Composed of synthetic hair plugs imbedded into a piece of makeup covered drywall and framed, this work alludes to the multitude of ways we remove hair from the body. Using foundational building materials, the work alludes to the simultaneous decoration and removal of the surface of the body for aesthetic beauty (like an architectural construction), while visually representing the physical act of hair removal.
Drywall, liquid make up, synthetic hair
22 x 28 x 3”
1997
Antique mirror, various colors of lipstick (kissed)
32 x 24 x 1.5”
1998
This work is a self portrait executed on an antique beveled mirror, accomplished by repeatedly applying different shades of lipstick and kissing the mirror. Layers of kissed marks eventually construct an image of myself, alluding to a humorous implication of narcissism that ultimately obscures the real image of myself as it would be reflected in the mirror. There’s also a hint of self-hate implicit in the process, as the image becomes visible only with the repeated application of a medium that is used for embellishment, and loaded in its own historic origins.
Antique mirror, various colors of lipstick (kissed)
32 x 24 x 1.5”
1998
White underwear, thread, quilted “beauty pads”
13”x10”x4”
1996
A nondescript white cotton pair of women’s underwear has been hand stitched with quilted “beauty pads” (as they are labeled and packaged) which are nothing more than cotton pads marketed for a variety of purposes, but are given the important tag of beauty. The pads here become a soft yet decorative armor, with a satirical poke at menstruation.
Liquid make up, fake hair and human hair installed into the wall, each square is 11”
1997
A rumination on skin tones and hair colors/types – both real and synthetic – in combinations that would likely never occur naturally. Here they allude to both the play and relative dissatisfaction one might have with their own inherited characteristics. There’s also a malleability of those characteristics that bear undercurrents to questions of race and ethnicity, “passing” and other cultural hierarchies and value systems related to skin tone and hair quality.