2
savouring
disgust
a phrase borrowed from Carolyn Korsmeyer
The curious paradox of feeling
attracted to and repulsed by
the same something,
at the same time.
The disgusting is seductive;
That which nauseates me,
also mesmerizes me.
I’ve discovered that it is in duality,
in the clash of polarising emotions,
where contradictions coexist harmoniously,
that fertile ground emerges
with an arresting electricity.
Initially, it was methodical:
objects that repulsed me
were the source of my creative energy.
My mission was to produce
beauty that seeded from disgust.
objects that repulsed me
were the source of my creative energy.
My mission was to produce
beauty that seeded from disgust.
Urethane rubber in its pre-cured liquid form is
a viscous, versatile, blank canvas that
retains whatever you throw at it;
An oozy, mucous-ey dream for a multi-media artist
with a fascination for disgust:
perfect to translate playschool “sketches”
into durable works.
But, urethane rubber is also
a sticky, sinister mess,
with a mind of its own
that leaves an almost invisible trail of toxicity
for user and environment.
a sticky, sinister mess,
with a mind of its own
that leaves an almost invisible trail of toxicity
for user and environment.
And as the work developed,
my raw materials
that were meant to serve as neutral tools,
started to evolve into
visceral, tangible weapons of disgust.
*PSA : ALIPHATIC ISOCYANATES*
my raw materials
that were meant to serve as neutral tools,
started to evolve into
visceral, tangible weapons of disgust.
*PSA : ALIPHATIC ISOCYANATES*
Whenever I thought I was in control,
the material had something else to say.
Eventually, I learned
how to work in harmony with the material,
to listen to what it wanted to do too.
the material had something else to say.
Eventually, I learned
how to work in harmony with the material,
to listen to what it wanted to do too.
We were in constant communication
and became co-creators
of this collection.
and became co-creators
of this collection.
I now surrender to the process of making.
I am no longer conditioned to control.
I see explosions of opportunity
when I am neck-deep, creating,
in communion with material and tool.
I am no longer conditioned to control.
I see explosions of opportunity
when I am neck-deep, creating,
in communion with material and tool.
This thesis collection emerged as a testament
to persisting in toxicity;
It planted the seed for my future interest
in natural, biological materials and remediation.
to persisting in toxicity;
It planted the seed for my future interest
in natural, biological materials and remediation.
