balloon mouth piece series

The balloon mouth pieces are seemingly self-sustaining but ultimately self defeating closed off systems.  They are rendered as respirator masks with medical straps to make these devices seam more believable, to make the viewers think they can use them and wonder why one would use them and what it would be like to use them.  Some balloons have two openings with masks attached to give a promise of some kind of absurd interaction.  The straps allude to respirator masks and scuba gear, but all elements are made out of the soft flexible rubber.  Even though everything is there for it to function properly, it’s not quite right because of the softness and the flabbiness of the rubber. It is also uncolored which makes these pieces look very flaccid, empty and undeveloped, like an embryo of something.

In the most recent mouth piece I have been focusing on shifting the scale of the object, while still retaining the relationship to the body.  Exaggerating the size creates tension between the imposing presence of the object and the miniscule details created by the bodily imprint, forcing the viewer to constantly zoom in and out between the macro and the micro.   The resulting object is unsettling, unclear, threatening, self-conscious and necessary.  Whether the viewer acts upon it or it acts upon the viewer, the engagement is compulsory.

14 images, 2006-2009

balloon mouth piece-5, cast rubber, weather balloon, rubber tubing, 3’8” x 2’7” x 6’ 7”, 2006

balloon mouth piece-5, cast rubber, weather balloon, rubber tubing, 3’8” x 2’7” x 6’ 7”, 2006

balloon mouth piece-5, cast rubber, weather balloon, rubber tubing, 3’8” x 2’7” x 6’ 7”, 2006

double balloon mouth piece-7-8, cast rubber, weather balloon, installation view, 2006

balloon mouth pieces 12,13 and 14., cast rubber, weather balloon, helium, plastic, cord, stanchions, 22’ x 25’ x 8’, 2009

balloon mouth pieces 15 and 16, cast rubber, weather balloon, plastic, cord, 22’ x 25’ x 8’, 2014