Facsimile

porcelain, jeweler’s wax, Formica counter-top 2018

Facsimile, emphasizes how viewers perceive the value of the objects based on the way in which they are displayed. This piece consists of many wax replicas, all of which were cast from objects in The Artifactual Collection. The replicas are housed in a porcelain container cast from a 5-gallon bucket mold. The porcelain bucket casts have been placed atop a pedestal created from faux marble Formica. The work’s meaning rests in the material from which the sculptural assemblage is made. Since porcelain and wax have universal connotations of “high” (porcelain) and “low” (wax) value, the appearance of the two materials together strikes the viewer as incongruous. Porcelain is usually reserved for objects of the highest quality and the 5- gallon bucket is a symbol of the common, the laborer, and the workingman. By filling it with wax replicas of the precious objects from The Artifactual Collection, the concept of mass-production is evident. By leaving the wax castings in their raw, unrefined form, it further push the idea of precious artifacts becoming cheap replicas. On top of all of this, or rather beneath it, sits a pedestal created from Formica. Formica was designed to replicate the look of precious stone at a fraction of the cost for a wider market, so what better material to display the idea of produced value? These materials used in conjunction with one another serve to represent the idea of the artifice. The “cost effective” replica of the original that is more relatable to the every-man.