ReThink Collection
The Bench
The ReThink Collection began to take form slowly and without a specific intention to build a series of sculpture that commented on Human Rights or the actions of authoritarian governments. (1989 Emerging Continents, commenting on the Tiananmen Square Massacre). Nor did I ever think that the issue of Women’s Rights, (which inspired the sculptural work; The Burden – Glass Ceiling) would become a source of energy to build socio-political works.
Yet, The Bench, provided an opportunity to present commentary on an historic injustice and thus I designed the bench to be supported by two males as caryatides, facing forward holding each end of the seat while a lone female figure supported the back of the platform, facing in the opposite direction.
Seeking to make a comment on the patriarchal power structure that has historically existed in organized society. I chose to represent a situation where the work is shared by both genders, with no clear indication of an overt level of privilege assigned. Further, a hierarchy among the men is not addressed in order to simply present the female in an opposing position yet not without an obvious description of a systemic bias against women.
The position of the female in the artwork assigns a significant authority to women and suggests that the way modern society perceives women today calls exception to a the past collectively held view of women's "role", allowing her consequential influence in the operation and functioning of society, in the western world. In that patriarchy was created by culture, it is being overturned by our modern culture, although the required change is painfully slow, I believe that we are finally making some progress in the 21st century.
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