Erin McKenna
“finding the shape of the overlap”March 24-31, 2020
Using bolts, beads, plywood, fringe, house paint, sequins, chain and nail polish, Erin McKenna makes unwieldy sculptures that bring languages of embellishment and function into unexpected dialogues.
Rules for making (in no particular order):
• no hierarchy of materials
• subvert expected use
• complicate binaries, stereotypes and associations
• misuse, misapply
• allow for variable arrangements
• repeat, reiterate, reuse
• consider the subversive possibilities of the excessive, fantastic, and necessary
• always let the labor be visible
Erin McKenna , mid-afternoon moon, 2020
Erin McKenna , cowgirl and the dandy, 2020
Erin McKenna, daisy chain, 2020
Erin McKenna, brick stitch, 2020
Right:Erin McKenna, was It a car or a cat I saw?, 2020
Left: mid-afternoon moon, 2020
Erin McKenna, we sang in the sunshine, we laughed everyday, we sang in the sunshine, then I went on my way, 2020
Image list:
*Erin McKenna, mid-afternoon moon, 2020
paint, bolts, velvet, washers, nuts, sequins, nailpolish, fringe, trampoline frame, lumber, chain, carabiners, gromets, silk, synthetic fur, patches, turquoise beats, springs, cinderblock, flocking, steel O ring, ball chain
*Erin McKenna, cowgirl and the dandy, 2020
leather, sequins, plywood, nails, spray paint, metal pipes, paint, screws, 4x4, hinges, s hook, nuts, washers, pleather, staples, mending plates, nail polish, caster, fabric dye
*Erin McKenna, daisy chain, 2020
electrical cords, LED light, paint, bolts, nuts, washers, sequins, ball chain, grommets, chains hooks, carabiners, lycra and polyester, amethyst
*Erin McKenna, brick stitch, 2020
chain, paint, faux fur, ball chain, sequins, fringe, hooks
*Erin McKenna, was It a car or a cat I saw?, 2020
plywood, amethyst, paint, composite jasper, screws, chain, Plasti Dip, eye hooks, LED light, cable clips, felt, spray paint, ball chain
*Erin McKenna, mid-afternoon moon, 2020 (detail)
*Erin McKenna, we sang in the sunshine, we laughed everyday, we sang in the sunshine, then I went on my way, 2020
hand dyed silk, velvet, ball chain, c clamps, paint, nail polish, washers, grommets, jasper, sequins, nuts, washers, dowel rods, chain, sunlight
See Erin’s interview here.
Images © 2020 Erin McKenna