Gold is a material that is imbued with myth. Gold signifies wealth, purity and beauty due to its brilliance, permanence and resistance to corrosion. Applications of gold to the body reflect a desire to amend the imperfection and impermanence of the body. Jewelry is worn as an aesthetic extension of the desire for perfection.
In contrast, I present gold jewelry in a way that highlights taboo aspects of the body. I mold the adornment into forms reminiscent of bodily corruption, like permeated membranes or cancerous growths. Wearing the pieces causes bodily residues to be shed. When I combine fetishized gold jewelry with the undesirable body the objects become both intriguing and repulsive.
In my work, applying and wearing gold illustrates a struggle between the decrepit body and the desire for perfection. The bodily configurations appear absurd and require physical restraint against twitching, wincing, or swallowing. In my work the grotesque aspects of the body counter the display gold as perfection.
