Patent Pending, 2014
In Patent Pending, patent images of various devices of restraint from the turn of the twentieth century through the present day are appropriated and digitally manipulated in order to critique the diverse and various modes of subjugation that occur both at the micro-level of individual bodies and at the macro-level of society. The installation highlights devices of restraint such as dog collars, leashes, harnesses, ropes, and chains that are used to discipline nonhuman animals’ bodies and women’s bodies as author Carol Adam’s has noted, in “the bondage equipment of pornography.”
Restrictive fashion that is historically linked to the disciplining of nonhuman animal bodies is also explored. This can be seen in the fashion house Gucci’s “horsebit” leather loafers, high heels, and jewelry, whose iconic gold and silver clasps are, according to Gucci’s website, “[d]esigned to recall the horse riding tradition in Florence’s high society.” Through an open-ended process of gathering patents and re-organizing them, particular patterns of domination begin to emerge between documents that would normally remain physically and conceptually distanced from one another.
In Patent Pending, patent images of various devices of restraint from the turn of the twentieth century through the present day are appropriated and digitally manipulated in order to critique the diverse and various modes of subjugation that occur both at the micro-level of individual bodies and at the macro-level of society. The installation highlights devices of restraint such as dog collars, leashes, harnesses, ropes, and chains that are used to discipline nonhuman animals’ bodies and women’s bodies as author Carol Adam’s has noted, in “the bondage equipment of pornography.”
Restrictive fashion that is historically linked to the disciplining of nonhuman animal bodies is also explored. This can be seen in the fashion house Gucci’s “horsebit” leather loafers, high heels, and jewelry, whose iconic gold and silver clasps are, according to Gucci’s website, “[d]esigned to recall the horse riding tradition in Florence’s high society.” Through an open-ended process of gathering patents and re-organizing them, particular patterns of domination begin to emerge between documents that would normally remain physically and conceptually distanced from one another.
Archival digital prints on Hahnemühle photo rag paper, nails, black paint. Overall dimensions approximately 35" x 94."