Cast resin duck and geese skulls, dried flowers, and vinyl
2022
Duck…Duck…Duck…Duck…Goose! With the word goose we choose who we want to chase us. Some pick a lessor opponent assessing who we think we can outrun. We call the fastest ones ducks in hopes of not being caught. Participating in a game of continual exposure based on physical ability. Some pick someone who be fun to run with with. They like the competition and the challenge. In either case it is a game of pride, of picking the bear you wish to poke and seeing if you can get away.
Historically children we are taught many things through games and songs. Sometimes it was to pass on knowledge of events from generation to generation, sometimes it was to pass on life lessons. These games and songs were mechanisms for softening a heavy topic while simultaneously burying these lessons deep in our being. Many of these lessons have transitioned from necessity to entertainment.
For example the game hide and seek which teaches children how to be a predator while teaching them to survive as prey. Something that was survival skills has become, a game for the young.
I was interested in exploring the progression of culture through children. How they are a middle ground between wild and restricted expectations of behavior. It is interesting how much of a childhood experience is shared with adults but also how children influence each other. So many games are passed from one childhood to another without the involvement of an adult.
The flat yet undulating environment of this work is created by dazzle camouflage, also called razzle dazzle. Dazzle camouflage was used as early as 1918, not to hide ships of war, but rather to confuse the perception of them, whether through their scale or orientation. For me it alludes to games like hide and seek, manhunt, battleship and other games that imitate combat and survival.
