Painted Ground
"Painted Ground" presents a static record of a burial site at multiple points in time. The objects and record of the site reference the historic use of Witch Bottles as means of protective magic.
Bellarmine Witch Bottles were widely used in 17th century England to place protective spells and block incantations of ill will. They are complex relics that exist as functional stoneware vessels and decorative art objects. When used to contain an ephemeral magic utterance, the physicality of the bottle gives the elusive magic a material form. An analogy is a conch shell that holds a recording of the ocean’s spiraled waves, a potent aspect of the shell that can be heard but not touched.
The making of these replica witch bottles, accompanying relics, and burial performance expressed my vote of no confidence in our 45th President in inert materiality and active materialized energy.
"Painted Ground" records a personal act of resistance.
