Steel, glass, tufted tapestry, wood, silicone hand, electric motor. One can see through a curved glass window the hand's explorations unfolding, but any actual tactile experience is physically cut off and separated from our reality. This creates an uncomfortable sensory disconnection and blocked desire to feel the same sumptuous textures ourselves. It challenges the viewer's role as passive observer, leaving them grasping for multi-sensory participation that has been specifically walled-off and put on display as some kind of bizarre private act.
Using realistic silicone "pedicure practice feet", this sculpture takes inspiration from the recent rise of foot fetishism and stigma around it, especially among youth influenced by internet culture. By encasing these fetish objects in a peephole diorama setting, the work confronts how sexual interests evolve through shame or exposure, while evoking a sense of forbidden wonder at this self-contained world on display.
Volkswagen Beetle hood, kiln-formed glass, steel, electric disco ball. 44 × 44 × 17 inches, 2024