Friday, August 04, 2006

Sheilas Nos. 1 and 2 (Don't report me read the text first!)


Sheila no.2 (Kneeling), Steel, 100cm x 126cm, 2005


While working on “WH(Y)” I came into contact with Sheila. Sheila is an inflatable sex doll. In case your curious she came with the name and her chosen line of work is law enforcement, she packs a gun. I bought Sheila because I couldn’t really do a piece on the male state without involving sex but I didn’t want to incorporate graphically intimate images. Sheila was the solution, she represents the act of sex as one of desperation. Flesh and blood substituted by plastic and air, reality by fantasy. In “WH(Y)” she figures no fewer than six times and she is a patient and flexible model. In the process of having her around the studio the reactions, male and female, that people had to her were quite curious and strong. People reacted with intrigue and curiosity to what could be considered a symbol of our darker, more instinctual and desperate side. Hence Sheila no.1 (reclining) 192cm x 42cm and Sheila no.2 (Kneeling), 100cm x 126cm. Pieces that at once are provocative in the male objectification and idealization of the female form and miserably sad as measures of the levels of deprivation that human desire can bring.


Sheila no.1 (reclining), Steel, 192cm x 42cm, 2005


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