I have been doing a series of performances where I get a drummer to play the drums with roses. The stiffness of the rose stems allow them to function as drumsticks, and the listener can hardly tell the difference.
My recent work has been focused on my lifelong relationship with music as a sociopolitical tool, and a tool for self-reflection and meditation. Music was an instrument of redemption during my troubled adolescence, and I seek to recast the musical instruments in various ways in an attempt to emphasize their transcendence.
The sculpture is the aftermath of the performance. The rose pedals wither over time.
Snare and Roses, 2009.
oil on canvas.
24" x 18"
(The drums start to kick in towards the end of this clip, the entire performance was 10 minutes long)
