Parasitic Infatuation Amidst the Silent Void

The work is based on an 1894 novelette by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called 'The Parasite'. For those unfamilar, a parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.
In the book, 'the parasite' makes use of a form of mind control similar to the mesmerism of the Victorian era. The main character is a young man known as Austin Gilroy, studies physiology and knows a professor who is studying the occult. The young man is introduced to a middle-aged woman known as Miss Penclosa, who has a crippled leg and psychic powers. She is a friend of the Professor's wife. The skeptical Gilroy's fiancée, Agatha, is put into a trance to prove Miss Penclosa's powers. This succeeds and Gilroy begins to go to the Professor's house where Miss Penclosa practices her powers on him.
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Miss Penclosa 'falls in love' with the unfortunate Gilroy. She starts to use her powers on him to make him caress her, and utter sweet nothings to her. He loses his temper and rejects her love, and she begins to play tricks on him with her powers.
Parasitic Infatuation Amidst the Silent Void
Rubber mannequin head with coyote bones, muskrat skull, palm tree husks, epoxy, and acrylic
18 x 18 x 12 in / 45.7 x 45.7 x 30.5 cm
2023
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The Original Mannequin Project — Melrose & McQueen - Atlanta, GA - 12.02.2023