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UNTITLED FRANKENSTEIN

The images in this series are three-dimensional paintings, which are composed of two double-sided layers, crushed together, sculpted, and held with resin. Each contains the same sequence of materials: an abstract figure painting, machine embroidered text on linen narrating a medical procedure, digital collage on canvas, and faux fur. Some are free-standing, while others hang off or lean upon the wall. The work addresses the frictions produced when bodies are held to normative anatomies that distinguish “human” and “not-human.”  Formally called, Untitled Frankenstein, I began this project while thinking about how monstrosity manifests in—and classifies—bodies. This has been ongoing in my work for over ten years, ever since I first learned about teratomas (“monstrous tumors”). The sculptural paintings’ layered bodies allude to a teratoma’s amalgamated form, while the violence of crushing for me becomes a metaphor for both the toll of scientific invention/discovery and the complex and difficult process of becoming. The series is meant to reference Mary Shelley’s well-known doctor and unnamed “creature,” as well as the physical development of my own teratoma, and subsequent surgery, in 2022.

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​Teratomas were named after the Greek term for “monster” by a 19th century pathologist, likely inspired by Shelley’s 19th century novel. The monstrosity

portrayed in that novel continues to exemplify our scientific/cultural approach to abnormality as much as it describes our current fragmentary existence—one that has been encouraged by such advancements of science and technology as those that first allowed us to isolate, dissect, name, and fear what deviates from its standards. Untitled Frankenstein fits within the larger embedded questions within my continuous series of works, such as what is/can be a body, where do our bodies begin and end, and how do we define monstrosity.

The series conceptually and aesthetically builds upon my previous work, referencing imagery I have used since 2012 as well as artifacts from the discovery and subsequent surgery of my teratoma. The work is usually shown with the addition of a site-specific wall installation, a vinyl collage referencing both the content of the paintings and the space where it is shown. This practice started with my solo show (named after the series) at Morlan Gallery, in Lexington, Kentucky and was repeated for a subsequent showing of the work at tangerine gallery, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. These shows also included previous series of mine, which serve as a kind of historical context for this series. Earlier showing of this series, such as Under the tussling surface, at Wofford College, in South Carolina, only included the earlier work and not a wall piece. 

© 2015 by Allison Spence

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