A. Laura Brody
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Melusine
Work in progress, 2021
Reused walker, textiles, and notions over plastics, cartons, and wire.
68" x 42" x 36"
$15,000
Website: https://www.dreamsbymachine.com/
California, USA
All photos by Heidi Marie Photography
VO by McKerrin Kelly
Work in progress, 2021
Reused walker, textiles, and notions over plastics, cartons, and wire.
68" x 42" x 36"
$15,000
Website: https://www.dreamsbymachine.com/
California, USA
All photos by Heidi Marie Photography
VO by McKerrin Kelly
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The Kali Walker
2017 Reused walker, PVC, cardboard, textiles, and notions. 72" x 54" x 42". $20,000 VO by McKerrin Kelly |
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ABOUT THE ARTWORKS:
Melusine:
In the legend of Melusine, she is a fairy in human female form that saved a man after he had accidentally killed a king. She promised him a great kingdom and many fine children if he would only leave her alone on Saturdays. She lived up to her promise and he did not, spying on her in her bath to see her lower body turned to fish or serpent tails. When he finally confronted her, she grew wings and flew away, leaving him to die in obscurity. My version of Melusine is about auto-immune disease, female autonomy, and emotional labor.
Melusine has a spine of thyroid supplement bottles and is stuffed with plastic waste shoved into an armature of wire and used cartons. Her base is covered with remnant and reused textiles and notions. She is in her first stages- the piece so far is only her twin legs/tail fins attached to a walker. The final piece may reach up to 12’ tall.
The Kali Walker:
This sculpture is based on the many faces of Kali, from her roles as the goddess of time and empowerment to beloved mother to a symbol of fury and destruction. She is a product of two years of rage. During her construction I dealt with my best friend’s violent death in a hate crime, serious health issues that my doctors dismissed, and the deep-seated ugliness of racism and hatred of difference. To me, the Kali Walker represents the truth that we all age and have the potential to develop disabilities, and that bodily strength is not the only measure of ferocity and vitality.
The sculpture is built into an aluminum walker with an added reused PVC pipe frame. Her body is formed from coffee canisters and priority mail boxes, and she is skinned in old leather jackets, purses, pants, and bits of sofa. She is edged in remnant zipper teeth and bejeweled with broken jewelry, donated trims, and semi-precious stones.
In the legend of Melusine, she is a fairy in human female form that saved a man after he had accidentally killed a king. She promised him a great kingdom and many fine children if he would only leave her alone on Saturdays. She lived up to her promise and he did not, spying on her in her bath to see her lower body turned to fish or serpent tails. When he finally confronted her, she grew wings and flew away, leaving him to die in obscurity. My version of Melusine is about auto-immune disease, female autonomy, and emotional labor.
Melusine has a spine of thyroid supplement bottles and is stuffed with plastic waste shoved into an armature of wire and used cartons. Her base is covered with remnant and reused textiles and notions. She is in her first stages- the piece so far is only her twin legs/tail fins attached to a walker. The final piece may reach up to 12’ tall.
The Kali Walker:
This sculpture is based on the many faces of Kali, from her roles as the goddess of time and empowerment to beloved mother to a symbol of fury and destruction. She is a product of two years of rage. During her construction I dealt with my best friend’s violent death in a hate crime, serious health issues that my doctors dismissed, and the deep-seated ugliness of racism and hatred of difference. To me, the Kali Walker represents the truth that we all age and have the potential to develop disabilities, and that bodily strength is not the only measure of ferocity and vitality.
The sculpture is built into an aluminum walker with an added reused PVC pipe frame. Her body is formed from coffee canisters and priority mail boxes, and she is skinned in old leather jackets, purses, pants, and bits of sofa. She is edged in remnant zipper teeth and bejeweled with broken jewelry, donated trims, and semi-precious stones.
STATEMENT:
My adaptive device artworks draw from the history of art: the flowing shapes of Art Nouveau, the embellishments of the Victorians and the line quality of Klimt and Schiele. These sculptures are conceived with a commitment to social justice and are inspired by the spirit of scientific discovery. They are meant to encourage conversation and to inspire radical rethinking of the meanings of disability and adaptive aids.
DESCRIPTION:
Melusine
The lower half of a figure is supported by a matte silver walker. Curved handles poke out from the front of the figure’s full right hip while the other handle is hidden. The figure has two tentacle-like legs that end in fish tails. The tails flop to the rear. The figure is covered in undulating stripes of shiny fabrics: magenta, purple, turquoise, lime green, gray, gold, dark green and navy. Most are solid colors. Columns of small semi-circular scales run straight up the sides and float down the legs. The scales are predominately blue and are anchored on either side of the straight edge with straight pins with yellow heads. The curved edges of each scale are trimmed with zipper teeth. In the rear, the tubes of the walker extend from the left hip and the right thigh. Frayed fabric ends at the waist. An 18-inch length of metal with uniform holes juts up from the figure’s waist. It is tied with white cord and blue tape to a piece of white pipe.
The Kali Walker
The Kali Walker is a representation of the Goddess Kali built into a walker.
Kali is positioned in front of the walker. Her face is gray blue, with almond shaped eyes. A third eye, placed vertically, is in her forehead just above a red jewel. Her red tongue sticks out from her red lips. Two of her four legs are bent at the knee and their feet extend beyond the walker’s frame. Her front feet stand on the ground. Three arms extend from each side of her body. Her upper left hand holds a severed head, the lower left holds a bowl lined in deep red, and the upper right hand wields a blood-red scythe. Her fingers end in sharp points.
Her body and limbs are made from irregular shaped leather in browns, black, pale blue, chartreuse, and green with occasional red patches. A narrow belt sits just below her waist, anchoring a fringe of hands and forearms. Fabric dreadlocks form her long hair. She wears a gold flame crown and a necklace of blue and gold beads and blue and white unpolished stones joined by gold rings. The necklace meets between her breasts with a white and black skull from which hangs a dark red tassel.
Kali’s walker is marbleized in blue, gold, and pearl, and has multicolored leather hand rests.
-descriptions by Teri Grossman
The lower half of a figure is supported by a matte silver walker. Curved handles poke out from the front of the figure’s full right hip while the other handle is hidden. The figure has two tentacle-like legs that end in fish tails. The tails flop to the rear. The figure is covered in undulating stripes of shiny fabrics: magenta, purple, turquoise, lime green, gray, gold, dark green and navy. Most are solid colors. Columns of small semi-circular scales run straight up the sides and float down the legs. The scales are predominately blue and are anchored on either side of the straight edge with straight pins with yellow heads. The curved edges of each scale are trimmed with zipper teeth. In the rear, the tubes of the walker extend from the left hip and the right thigh. Frayed fabric ends at the waist. An 18-inch length of metal with uniform holes juts up from the figure’s waist. It is tied with white cord and blue tape to a piece of white pipe.
The Kali Walker
The Kali Walker is a representation of the Goddess Kali built into a walker.
Kali is positioned in front of the walker. Her face is gray blue, with almond shaped eyes. A third eye, placed vertically, is in her forehead just above a red jewel. Her red tongue sticks out from her red lips. Two of her four legs are bent at the knee and their feet extend beyond the walker’s frame. Her front feet stand on the ground. Three arms extend from each side of her body. Her upper left hand holds a severed head, the lower left holds a bowl lined in deep red, and the upper right hand wields a blood-red scythe. Her fingers end in sharp points.
Her body and limbs are made from irregular shaped leather in browns, black, pale blue, chartreuse, and green with occasional red patches. A narrow belt sits just below her waist, anchoring a fringe of hands and forearms. Fabric dreadlocks form her long hair. She wears a gold flame crown and a necklace of blue and gold beads and blue and white unpolished stones joined by gold rings. The necklace meets between her breasts with a white and black skull from which hangs a dark red tassel.
Kali’s walker is marbleized in blue, gold, and pearl, and has multicolored leather hand rests.
-descriptions by Teri Grossman
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Opulent Mobility by A. Laura Brody is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
The Opulent Mobility license refers to the exhibit and its audio descriptions. Individual artworks are the property of the individual artists.