A. Laura Brody
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Melusine
Work in progress, 2022 Reused walker, textiles, and notions over plastics, cartons, and wire. 98" x 42" x 36" $30,000 Website: https://www.dreamsbymachine.com/ California, USA Photos by Heidi Marie Photography "The Fairy Melusine" perfume by Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfume VO by McKerrin Kelly |
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ABOUT THE ARTWORKS:
Melusine:
Melusine 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 approximately 2/3 completed, lacking only her arms and wings.
Melusine 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 approximately 2/3 completed, lacking only her arms and wings.
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
A sculpture of an armless female form is supported by a matte silver walker. Curved silver handles poke out from the front of the figure’s full right hip while the other handle is hidden. The sculpture has two tentacle-like legs ending in fish tails that flop to the rear. The body is covered in undulating stripes of shiny fabrics: magenta, purple, and turquoise, lime green, gray, gold, dark green and royal blue. Columns of small semi-circles in contrasting colors with the straight side up float around the body and legs. The curved edges of the semi-circles are trimmed with zipper teeth. In the rear, the tubes of the walker extend from the left hip and the right thigh. The figure has a narrow waist and full bust, and the face is green, purple, gold, and blue with embroidered red lips and purple eyes. A flowing veil covers the top of the head and the front hair is braided in multiple strands. Clear circular openings on the left breast and at each armhole reveal the plastic waste and assorted trash stuffed inside.
-description by Teri Grossman
A sculpture of an armless female form is supported by a matte silver walker. Curved silver handles poke out from the front of the figure’s full right hip while the other handle is hidden. The sculpture has two tentacle-like legs ending in fish tails that flop to the rear. The body is covered in undulating stripes of shiny fabrics: magenta, purple, and turquoise, lime green, gray, gold, dark green and royal blue. Columns of small semi-circles in contrasting colors with the straight side up float around the body and legs. The curved edges of the semi-circles are trimmed with zipper teeth. In the rear, the tubes of the walker extend from the left hip and the right thigh. The figure has a narrow waist and full bust, and the face is green, purple, gold, and blue with embroidered red lips and purple eyes. A flowing veil covers the top of the head and the front hair is braided in multiple strands. Clear circular openings on the left breast and at each armhole reveal the plastic waste and assorted trash stuffed inside.
-description 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.