STRAY.ARTE

DEFUND VIOLENCE, SUPPORT UNWRA.

Art journal pages for my new piece, which was inspired by real life events, The Simpsons, and the Barbie movie.

Do you remember The Simpsons episode “Lisa Simpson vs Malibu Stacy” where a girl’s Malibu Stacy says “my spidey sense is tingling. Anybody call for a web-slinger?” This was a playful reference to the work of the Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO) who, in the early 1990s, switched the voice boxes of 100s of G.I. Joe dolls with voice boxes from Barbie dolls, and placed them back in stores.

This act of “culture jamming” was intending to make consumers reflect on the phrases that Barbie dolls were spouting (such as, “Math class is tough”) and voice their opinions in opposition to the questionable phrases.

“Not to be Rehearsed.” 

After watching The Rehearsal, I wanted to create a piece that explored the mind of Nathan Fielder. The series ultimately enters itself around Nathan’s struggle with human connection and authenticity, and he sees these as somewhat mutually exclusive concepts. 

“I’m not good at meeting people for the first time. I’ve been told my personality can make people uncomfortable, so I have to work to offset that.” In other words, in order to feel like he can properly connect with other people, he cannot be his authentic self.

I used the backdrop of Rene Magritte’s piece “Not To be Reproduced,” because it also explores the idea o incorrect reflections, and it too creates a surreal environment which unveils a sense of confusion in the viewer; just like watching The Rehearsal.

I say “incorrect reflections,” because Nathan constantly asks the viewer to question the legitimacy of the situations that he shows us, simply by making them bizarre. This is especially true in Nathan’s previous series “Nathan For You,” where he convinces business owners to indulge his eccentric, morally questionable ideas. 

This is why I also included a camera in the piece, because I believe that Nathan is always questioning the role a camera plays in altering people’s actions. How many people would have agreed to engage with his bizarre plans if a camera had not been present? How much power do cameras hold if they are able to sway people’s behaviour like this? 

This then brings us to the role of the viewer, after all, reality shows like this are created for our entertainment, so we must be playing some sort of role in persuading these people to act in bizarre ways. This is why I felt it was particularly fitting to use a picture in which Nathan is pointing directly at the viewer as this then draws the viewer into the equation, and allows them also be explored in the piece.

Lastly, I wanted to depict Nathan’s obsession with controlling reality via the use of one of his flow charts. Nathan used flow charts throughout the show in an attempt to predict how each scenario would play out. I wanted to make the flowchart look endless, because the questions he was asking don’t have any answers; there is no way to rehearse every potential outcome. In fact, it is the very attempt to calculate human behaviour that results in Nathan getting lost. So lost a child actor has to remind him of which role he is there to play. 

On Earth Day, April 22, Climate Activist Wynn Bruce self-immolated in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington DC.

I saw little coverage in relation to this act. I don’t think it’s right to stifle the selfless action of an individual consumed by concern for the planet; especially as it was his last act on this earth.

I have been working on these pieces since I heard about the incident, and I really didn’t want to release them until I was truly satisfied, as I wanted to do as much justice as possible to the issue.

Art makes ugly issues easier to digest. It can serve as a subtle reminder without forcing the viewer to see the violence of the issue head on.

Oh okay you’re only going to respond to a minor violent act committed by a black man but remain silence, actually, openly praise, white men who are known sexual predators?