I have been working on the fetishist chair; I’ve smoothed the joins on the metal using fiberglass and car filer.
I then sanded this down and till it was smooth and then gave it several coats of gloss black paint.
I’m very pleased with the overall look of the chair. Next on the list is to cover the seat and back rest in the pvc material and attach them back to the chair.
I have also finally finished casting penises with the final count being 87. This became a very long and laborius job and am glad in a way that its finished.
Since I’ve finished my days don’t feel anyway near as productive as they did before..
Sarah Lucas uses objects to suggest genitalia.
In her pieces – Bitch, 1995 and Two Fried Eggs and a Kebab, 1992, she uses a table to suggest a human and then places two fried eggs where the breasts should be and a kebab where the vagina should be. Similarly in Bitch, she uses the table to suggest a human on all fours and a t-shirt with two melons in hanging underneath to suggest breast and a kipper to suggest the vagina.
In a self-portrait she pictures herself wearing a t-shirt with two fried eggs attached to her breasts.
These well-known similes’ for genitalia appear again in Au Naturel. A double mattress with a cucumber and two orange’s is positioned next to a bucket and two melons to suggest a man and women naked in bed together.
I can relate these pieces to my work due to the symbolism she uses for male and female genitalia. Lucas’s work doesn’t appear to be discriminatory to either sex however we could suggest that she’s implying that likening the genitalia to similar looking objects it discriminatory to both sexes.
Upon seeing Lucas’s work it has inspired me to create a short video asking people what they think genitalia looks like.
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping (Latin flagellum, “whip”) the human body. Specialized implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o’ nine tails and the sjambok. Typically, flogging is imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly, or performed on oneself, in religious or sadomasochistic contexts
It was suggested that my chairs could be used as implements of flagellation. This came about from discussing another colleague’s work and what we see as the real meaning behind their work. That being, their fetishistic sexuality. It was jokingly suggested that they would love my chair.
I hadn’t really seen that my work could be used for this or be associated with it.
Taking a step back and looking they do look like a sadists device. However the sadism for me is shifted to the female part and not the male – women that enjoy or take pleasure in causing pain (non physical) to men.
Today I added a coat of pink paint to the gin – trap chair.
I feel that this pink for obvious reasons makes the piece stand out. It also adds to and compounds the sculptures prejudice to women, using a ‘girly’ colour.
I also think that it adds to the overall brutality of the sculpture. The gaudy pink seems to make light of the sculptures intended purpose.
Ive been engrossed within penis making and creating the throne recently, but always in the back of my mind the trap chairs have been niggling me, I’m not happy with their overall look.
I have decided to alter them. The first one I have set about changing first is the gin trap chair.
I have bent out the legs and added extensions onto the rear legs to give the illusion of someone on all fours. The purpose of this is to detract attention from the animal trap. I intend to paint this piece in a cliché girly pink offering it up as a stark metaphor.
I like the power of this piece, I think its because I know the power and brutality of the gin trap. I’ve struggled to pull it back and set it and seen it test fire. Its very powerful.
