Hold me

This is a work produced last semester also. Playing with the idea of scale and miniatures and an object's intimacy with the body, I created a giant kidney bean. Consisting of two hydraulic press halves with a sheet of metal soldered in between, a hollow form was created, silver-plated and a tuft of red silk pokes out of its orifice. I wanted the viewer, (or the holder more so) to experience this object as through touch and heat. I used a heat bag to warm the metal before placing the object on different parts of the body. Cupped in two hands, in the small of the back and under the neck. The object created responses of comfort and warmth. A positive energy. I thought back to what inspired this work and figured it most probably stems from my work with Dementia patients and their need for enhanced sensory stimulation through Diversional Therapy activities.

Warm-blooded, silver-plated copper, silk. 2009.