Correctional Institute Inmate Personals
As an artist I am interested in exploring the "intimate" and the "sexual" capacities of human nature. I have arrived at this interest through the simple observation of my own curiosity and enjoyment of the triggers, signals, and paraphernalia that surround intimacy and the act of sex. In my work, I look for ways in which I might destabilize the notion of the erotic being located in a singular event, but instead arises in numerous and fluctuating forms as it threads and weaves both the common and unattended aspects of human sexuality.
I am not interested in generating a unique moment of arousal, as is common in commercial erotica and the history of male dominated erotic art, which focuses on "sex objects." Rather, I am interested in investigating the intimate space around erotic activities and how these spaces move through and change with time. The piece "Correctional Institute Inmate Personals" uses personal ads placed in the STAR periodical to document the requests for companionship and intimacy from correctional institute inmates. The piece builds upon these requests by allowing the viewer to read customized "love letters." The truthfulness and honesty of these ads is placed into question through a warning about possible "personal ad scams" that are regularly posted on sites that host actual personal ads.