American Wax

American Wax is a visual lamentation and conceptual exploration of the current and historical American political landscape. Melancholic, melting figures from the depths of the uncanny valley slump in embarrassment and despondency. Distressed wax hands thread through uncomfortable representations of the patriarchy’s myopic gaze. Faceless, alien, Divine Feminine forms endure the endarkened lurking intensity of the founding fathers and their contemporaries. 

This series is inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto’s portraits of wax figures. Instead of using black and white to enhance the illusion of humanness, I allow some of the sickly, garish colors of these characters to activate existential biliousness. I intentionally made the work noisy, murky, and slightly desaturated to further dislocate the images from their source: The President’s Hall of Fame, a mildewed, nearly forgotten roadside attraction in Central Florida. The work is not about the place itself, it’s about an idea. 

This work is an act of desperation. It is an artist’s attempt to make sense of the looping, confounding thoughts of “what is happening in this country?” It is meant to be printed large, allowing a full body relationship between the viewer and the thing viewed. The ultimate goal of this work is to enable catharsis, inspire conversation, spark communication, and hopefully, elucidate solutions.