Barodiferous cacticus
![](http://chinmoyi-patel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ChinmoyiPatel_BananacusCacticus-768x1024.jpg)
Bananacus cacticus mixed media 1.5 x 1.5 x 4.5 ft approx. 2015
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Pricklaneous cacticus mixed media 0.5 x 0.5 x 1.5 ft approx. 2015
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Ikatifarous cacticus mixed media 0.5 x 1 x 1.5 ft approx. 2015
![](http://chinmoyi-patel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ChinmoyiPatel_StaraneousCacticus-768x1024.jpg)
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’.