Fluxus Box

 Deception

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Deception, Mosaic Glass Pieces, Clear Gorilla Glue, Glass Jars, Air Dry Clay, Paint, Synthetic Plants, Wood, Paper, Ink, 9”x12”x15.5”

Objects

Details

Artist Statement

This Fluxus Box was created around the concept that “things aren’t what they seem”. I’ve always had a fascination with poisonous plants and flowers and see them as one of natures biggest deceptions. Like so often with poisonous things, poisonous flowers look beautiful and are quite common in the case of the lily but can cause some nasty side effects if they are touched or ingested. This was the first deception I added to my box. At first it look like a pretty little greenhouse but as you interact with it and take out the little planters you read the side effects of each plant and get a hint of what’s wrong. The second deception is when you open the planters and find little severed body parts in each planter. Suddenly this greenhouse doesn’t seem so pretty. Thats what I wanted to accomplish with this piece I wanted to take a place that looks safe and peaceful and completely flip the viewers perception of it. I wanted to take something expected and twist into something else completely. The heart of this work is that things are seldom what they pear on the surface. 

In-Process Pictures

Research Images

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g1174/deadly-poisonous-plants/

Artist Inspiration

https://foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Fluxus%20Box%20Artists

Notes

The Maze Runner: Death Cure

The Emperors New Groove

The most tedious part of this process was putting the mosaic glass into each “panel” along the box and lid and then waiting for them to dry.

My favorite part was creating the little body parts by sculpting air dry clay. I’ve never used it before and it was really fun to expire next and learn how to use a new material. 

I’m happy that I was able to incorporate one of my interests into this project as poisonous plants have always been a point of interest for me. The hardest part was making each plant miniature and still resemble its actual plant counterpart. I think adding the labels with the plants name/side effect helps with that, though.