home
2018
mirror polished stainless steel, mild steel, faux flowers
87” x 114” x 48”
The word home has many connotations. In literal terms, home is a place of residence, yet that hardly defines the true meaning of the word. Home as an abstract concept represents feelings and memories. It can represent both stability and instability. It is wherever we find ourselves. Home is where the heart is. It can be comforting and warm, or cold and filled with grief. It can imply a city, state or country. Home can be a terrifying place or offer a nostalgic sentiment. Home is a place of isolation, hiding, or concealing. Social, cultural, and political issues can also dictate ones meaning of home. This work attempts to reveal these connotations, offering a reflection of each viewer's true meaning of home.
The sculpture, home, confronts the viewer through juxtaposing perspectives. Embodied in the cold and hard steel of its billboard structure, this apparatus reveals home as a material object to be attained by commercial and capitalist means. Although the mirror-polished stainless-steel letters feel cold and sterile, the Cooper Black font evokes a retrospective and nostalgic idea of home. Yet as the viewer approaches the work the letters tell a new perspective, reflecting the warmth and beauty of the world around, offering hope and an engaging opportunity to contemplate what home means.
home is part of an on-going series that is currently installed in Appleton, WI and was recently installed at Wayne State College, in Wayne NE.