Exoskeleton 2005Exoskeleton is a self portrait with many shades. The image came to me during a period when I was fixated on sunglasses. Trying many different styles collected from from flea markets and thrift stores. One day I began adding a second pair, then a third and so on. My initial reaction was guttural, it made me laugh. Then it grew into a lingering fascination with the sublime strangeness of the image.
Why sunglasses? Aside from their primary function, to protect the eyes, they fulfill a desire in me to hide or be anonymous, ironically enough since one impetus for creating art is the desire to make the personal public, to be seen and recognized. The multiple sunglasses could represent the multiple ways that I perceive myself and the multiple ways that I assume others perceive me.
Sunglasses also function to limit outgoing and incoming communication. Of course the eyes are a major outlet of information from the face but great amounts of data are transmitted from the whole face and through extremely subtle movements.
Exoskeleton is an image of armor, blocking the outgoing signals of the inner self. The more of the face that is covered the less facial communication is transmitted and the less mammalian and more insect or crustacien-like the face becomes. At times it is desirable to appear less human and more bug-like. For instance on the subway if you are not in the mood for eye contact with strangers.
On one level, Exoskeleton illustrates shades gone obsessively awry, becoming pathological, made malignant. On another level Exoskeleton illustrates the normal uses of a fashion accessory, playfully multiplied into an odd, humorous mask.
Click here to read about Free To A Good Home, a conceptual project which involved giving this painting away.
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