The Figure

2024 | chicken wire/papier mache/cardboard | installation

Representing the parental figure, this character is experiencing a decline in health through an illness unknown to the child. His body appears to be elongated and distorted in areas, making the Child question whether that is how he has always been, and if that is what they will grow into. The Figure is unable to carry himself further, and accepts the transition into the beyond. 

The Figure is a link between my research and the research of Richard E. Shope, who studied the disease of SPV in Rabbits. SPV manifests in cancerous horns growing out of a rabbit’s head and face, lending to one of the origins of the Jackalope. The Figure is a Jackalope fighting the illness of cancer, and has a personal connection to my childhood upbringing and the witnessing of a parent’s decline.