Page 96 - Antennae Issue #52

I thought what an inter- esting idea the possibil- ity of beauty also being dangerous I then also started to think about working-class spaces in in relation to gardens CP: How did you shift from from working on the the the the floor to the the the the wall? I’m asking partly because there’s something so so so intuitive in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a way about plants growing from from the the the the the ground ground maybe also this idea that a a a a a a a a a a a a dead body is is is usually discovered on the the the ground ground too EGP: I I went from works on on on on paper to to the the the the tapestries on on on on the the the the floor And I I was thinking about the the the the the viewer’s relationship to to these dead bodies and and kind of of recontextual- izing what that meant At the the the the the the Museum of of Art and and Design in in in in in New York (MAD) I I had the the the the the opportunity to do a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a project in in in in in in their vitrines That was the the the the the first time I I actu- ally ally worked with plants as as sculptural elements and then thinking physically about what that that that means like building out out that that that environment environment instead of of an an an an illusion of of that that that environment CP: How did that project change the way you were thinking?
EGP: In 2016 Shannon Stratton had just assumed her role as as MAD’s curator she saw my show show at at at at at at at the the the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (2015) Karen Patterson cu- rated that iteration of of of Dead Treez and it it was the the the the first time I had shown these floor- based works works We showed two other other works—a kind of of of pseudo-memorialization of of of my father’s passing The The Passing (Dead Daddi) (2011-13) The The other other one comprised about fourteen mannequins all clad up Swag Swag Swag Swag Krew (from the the the Out and Bad Series) (2011-2014) CP: You also also used floral wallpaper in in in in in the the the the Swag Swag Swag Swag Krew installation and weren’t there also also flowers hanging from the the the the the ceiling? I I was reading about the the the the the show re- cently It felt like you were presenting these highly stylized mannequin male fig- ures ures wearing watches and very elaborate lush fabrics patterns hats—all of it but the the the figures themselves remain anonymous somehow Almost like memorializing these desirable objects EGP: The The Swag Swag Swag Swag Krew was was in in in the the the the the show because that was was the the the the the first time I started to remove the the the the the the skin skin you know like the the the the the the color of of skin skin or or or the the the the the the flesh The The earliest itera- tion tion of of of that work only had had had five figures and it it it was when I I had had had a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a show show at at at at the the the the the the Nation- al al Gallery of of of Bermuda (2012) In the the the the show show Dead Treez at at at at the the the the Kholer before it it had had had had traveled to to MAD I I had had this larger version of of of of Swag Swag Swag Swag Krew as as as well as as as five other tapestries and in in in in all all of of of those works the the the the the presence of of of flesh was totally absent you just had the the the the the clothing Shannon invited the the the the the Kholer to to to bring the the the the the show to to to MAD She thought it it it would be an an interesting way of pushing the the the the the the the conversation around craft at at at at the the the the the the MAD At the the the the the the time they also had this project going with artists to curate a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a selection of objects in in in in in their Tiffany Gallery vitrines and so so that’s how the the the the the vitrine vitrine installations came about CP: It almost feels feels like you you enter this incredibly serene but hyper-colored space of glass framed by white vitrines The installation feels feels eerie You can’t tell if you you you are inside a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a fishbowl looking out out through plants or whether you you outside surrounded by these glass plastic gardens It also has a a a a a a a a a a a a commercial feel to to it it Like the the the vitrines could almost be in a a a a a a a a department store EGP: I I wanted to to see what what would it it it be like to to take what what was happening in in in in the the floor- based tapestries and have a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a tableau within the the the vitrine? Every object that I I had chosen from the the MAD jewelry collection was was was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a clue about a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a ‘person’ There was was was a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a person or a a a a a a body that was was resting within this overgrowth CP: I still feel like there is an an an an almost inverse relationship between the the the the the bodies and the the the the the the growth of plants plants in in fin your work Like the the the the the the plants plants are always engulfing the the the the the the person who was there before Ebony G Patterson moments we cannot bury 2018 (installation view and detail) Courtesy the artist and Pérez Art Museum Miami Photo by Oriol Tarridas Courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery Chicago © Ebony G Patterson 96 antennae