Potion for a Heartbreak
2020/2021
gold box, ceramic, wood altar, gold lame' altar cloth,
bubble gum dust, lock of hair, broom
performance in perpetuity
15.5 x 10 x 4.5 in
I have a habit of looking for antidotes to what often seems unbearable. Potion for a Heartbreak materializes as a remedy or relief for what has been lost. Arranging objects and materials into a space for personal contemplation, the work is activated through performative ritual, grief transforms to hope..
on view at Monica King Projects
Talismans | a group exhibition
"This exhibition serves to elucidate the presence of Talismans, or objects thought to have magical powers and to bring good luck, as they often mirror the spiritual inner nature and reconciliation of chaos and harmony inherent in an artist’s work. While some works in this exhibition, such as those by Rachel Lee Hovnanian, April Marten, and Juan Logan were created with a direct sense of spiritual conjuring in mind,
others seem to reveal this more subtly in their core of hope or lightness in a world often far too heavy."
video, digital capture of performance, Frances with Potion for a Heartbreak,
00:00:19 looping video
Bubble gum dust, blessed by Frances, now finds itself cast as holy water. This performance and the resulting sculpture is multiplicitous in meaning: examining innocence, ecstasy, loss and everything in between. When the glistening pink dust is sprinkled upon the altar, it ritualistically erases oppressive ideas that limit human potential. This is the real magic of ancestral wisdom, opening us up to possibility.
The portable altar and devotional objects are housed in an archival box. Once removed and arranged, a place is designated for personal contemplation and conjuring for the collector of this work.
