Barodiferous cacticus

Bananacus cacticus  mixed media  1.5 x 1.5 x 4.5 ft approx.  2015

Pricklaneous cacticus  mixed media  0.5 x 0.5 x 1.5 ft approx.   2015

Ikatifarous cacticus  mixed media  0.5 x 1 x 1.5 ft approx.  2015

Staraneous cacticus  mixed media  1.5 x 1.5 x 4 ft approx.  2015

The handmade cloth cactus sculptures are a playful and humorous take on notions of interior decoration and modern design. The sculptures, which are titled with fictional botanical names, inhabit a space of make-believe and demand complicity from the viewer, while constantly disrupting it through its pretence. This tension is reflected in the use of fabric to contrast the spiky appearance of a cactus. The fragility of cloth contradicts the hardiness and tenacity of a cactus. The sculptures poke fun at acquisitive tendencies and allude to larger aspirations of a rapidly industrializing and developing society. Their whimsical absurdity serves to question ideas of ‘truth’ and ‘authenticity’ in a schizophrenic contemporary society. The inherent artifice in the works questions our role in the consumption of a global economy of ‘lifestyle’.