Patience, Baby
Once upon a time, the only way to gain control during unexpected, unwelcome changes was to document the entire ordeal. This show, the first of many explorations and declarations of my home life, centered around the dynamics of the relationship between my handicapped sister, my grandmother who raised us- sick in the hospital, planning to leave to her homeland permanently, and myself- away at art school, obligated to academia.
One of the videos, shot sideways, plays on a TV installed on it's side, making the piece viewable. The footage is of my sister on a kiddie ride in Chinatown, her most favorite delight. So elated, the accompanying soundtrack is Ren & Stimpy's "Happy Happy Joy Joy". A lyric exclaims, "Little critters of nature, they don't know that they're ugly..." Instead of this statement claiming the "ugliness" of anyone, I identify it more with how she perceives the world-- she doesn't differentiate between ugly or pretty, her acceptance and love is truly unconditional and unaffected by society.
On one wall, photographs are painted with oil accents to show how I may view things. On the opposite wall are drawings resembling coloring book pages, with my family being the characters. I had my sister color in the pages to mark how it symbolizes her view. One hundred of these pages were installed one page at a time, resulting in a simulated explosion of papers on the wall.
Next to that is a row of pages, one for each day of the week-- with dotted line font, just like in grade school. My sister has worked on pages like these her whole life. Each page features her in the same pose doing different tasks-- eating, ripping stuff, etc. They are titled Different Days, Different Things in an acquired expectation of standard randomness with her, each different day.
