"The Artificiality of Our Childhood Perceptions" serves as a meticulously composed reflection on innocence and complexity, where illusion and allusion converge. This work is anchored by a vivid green artificial grass bed, evoking the idyllic summers of youth. At its heart rests a silver reflective gazing globe, inviting viewers to see themselves and their surroundings within its mirrored surface. Flanking this centerpiece are bold Con Edison orange and white street construction warning panels, symbolic of the unseen boundaries and cautions that shaped our formative years.
Separating the green core from the industrial gravitas of the panels are wooden compartments housing 18 glass reagent jars, each filled with a colorful assortment of childhood candies—Hot Tamales, Smarties, Nerds, Lemonheads, and more. These jars act as reliquaries of memory, blending nostalgia with critique. The vibrant candies, alluring and saccharine, evoke the universal yet deeply individual experience of childhood while also embodying the artificiality of those curated moments.
This work explores the tension between appearances and hidden truths. The lush artificial grass, while comforting, underscores the constructed narratives of childhood innocence. The gazing globe serves as a portal of reflection, challenging viewers to confront the distortions of memory and the artifice behind their perceptions. The warning panels act as talismans, reminders that childhood, while celebrated for its purity, is framed by boundaries and dangers often unseen.
Candy, the sugary emblem of youth, becomes a focal symbol of fleeting joy and hidden complexity. Sweet yet insubstantial, colorful yet manufactured, these confections mirror the allure of simple pleasures masking deeper realities. Their clinical arrangement in glass jars suggests a dissection of nostalgia, revealing the commodification of innocence itself.
Childhood, despite its unique expression for each individual, is a universal experience that binds us across generations. The reflective globe amplifies this universality, inviting viewers to see their younger selves and shared pasts. This universality is tinged with an occult layer of memory. The jars, like ritual objects, hold the essence of fleeting joys and veiled truths, while the panels and artificial grass frame these memories as sacred yet manufactured. The globe becomes an oracle’s eye, reflecting the shared human journey within this fragile continuum.
The work is ultimately a meditation on balance: between joy and artifice, simplicity and complexity, the personal and the universal. It celebrates the golden light of youth while unmasking the shadows that linger beneath. Through its calculated composition and symbolic interplay, the work invites viewers to reflect on their past, confront their illusions, and embrace the shared humanity of a world shaped by both wonder and caution. It reminds us that while childhood may feel like a distant, idyllic dream, it remains a shared legacy carried into the present.
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The Artificiality of Our Childhood Perceptions
Gazing globe on artificial grass, wooden barriers, glass reagent bottles with candy, screws, and acrylic on wood construct
36 x 36 x 12 in / 91.4 x 91.4 x 30.5 cm
2021
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Grass Stains and Flip Flops: A Group Exhibition — ABA Gallery - Atlanta, GA - 2021