This installation investigates the process where expectations for behavior and individual responsibility are deeply rooted in their ornamentation, material and context. In Do Your Own Dishes, the disposable tableware of most contemporary parties and art openings has been remade in porcelain with ornamental references to 19th century Spode patterns. During the exhibition anyone may use any of the cups or plates provided they wash, dry, and return the pieces to the installation. The pieces become a gathering place and site of social interactions as participant/users wash and return their tableware. Everyone engages in social moments as they wash and maintain the tableware rather than throwing it out at the end of the evening! 

In conjunction with this exhibit, artists Viviane LeCourtois, Rori Knudtson and Tsehai Johnson organized a dining event where dining participants were asked to collaborate on cooking and eating together.  Everyone then washed their dishes and returned them to my installation, Do Your Own Dishes.

 

Do Your Own Dishes, 2010. Porcelain with towels dishpans, sponges, dish gloves and warm soapy water, 10′ x 24′ x 3′

Photography courtesy of Wes Magyar and Chris Perez

 

Exhibits

2010 Artist’s Footprints, curated by Viviane LeCourtois, Redline Gallery, Denver, CO (in conjunction with Biennial of the Americas and with catalog)

2015 Activate, curated by Viviane LeCourtois, DAVA- Downtown Aurora Visual Art Gallery, Aurora, CO

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