AMERICAN CARCINOGEN COLLECTION.

On average, Americans consume 150 burgers a year; which averages out to three per week.

Based on the Nurses' Study, 70% of the American diet is based on animal-based protein;
which coupled with dietary fat, becomes a leader in creating cancers (mostly breast and
large bowel).

In this series, I parallel burgers to bug breeds. By preserving them in the same manner as
a bug collection in resin epoxy blocks; we see burgers of various American brands for
comparison.

[Hamburgers in 9"x9" resin epoxy cubes]

BUST ENHANCEMENT.

[MIXED MEDIA. 21"x8"x6"]

FRAMINGHAM HEART.

The Framingham Heart Study (1948) was the first to make a connection between
high cholesterol and heart disease.

So here's an oversized anatomical heart made entirely of lard.

[MIXED MEDIA. LARD ON PLASTIC BASE. 13"x13"x13"]

PRESS:
"The massive, squashy fat valve seems to have been flambéd like a crème brule,
and I don’t believe even the NHS could come up with a more revolting health
campaign." - George Binning, Spoonfed, London.

IM (AMONGST) PERFECTION.

This project studies the hypothetical beauty of perfection. I reference the
study results of “Facial Analysis” (Dept of Otolaryngology, UTMB) as a
guideline towards creating 30 portraits of individuals between the ages of
18 – 24 that are manipulated to appear as the ideal standard of
measurement; therefore should be ultimately beautiful. Within this group,
I have included an unedited self-portrait, showing my implicit imperfections.
The manipulations to the mass of beautiful people appear to be somewhat
off, but not necessarily discernible. There is an unnatural oddness that
occurs when a face is entirely even. As Haridas Chaudhuri said, “The greater
the emphasis on perfection, the further it recedes.” In contrast with the mass
amount of ideal faces, mine stands out as being more natural and realistic;
the imperfections defining my identity.

The title of the piece is references “imperfection amongst perfection;” stating
that my imperfect self-portrait resides along with the perfect faces. In
appending imperfect to “im,” it further hints towards “I’m = I am amongst
perfection,” also disassociating myself entirely with the scientific view of perfection.

[This series is displayed as grid of 30 portraits, 50x60]

PART REPRESENTATION.

In this series we see ecstatic young children viewing headless animals at the zoo.

This is a creation based on the conclusion of Martha Farah's study of Facial
Recognition. She identified "part representation," which is responsible for recognizing
printed words, objects, and is not needed for facial recognition because it is considered
configurational-holistic (whereas objects are featural). In addition, humans are capable
of correctly recognizing faces at seven months, and reach an adult level of recognition
at age 10.

By removing the animals heads; I have destroyed the ability for the children to properly
identify the animal. Finally, The animals chosen have memorable features that are namely
part of their heads (giraffe's long necks, bighorn sheep's horns, etc).