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suv series

The SUV Series illustrates the demise of a past relationship through the obsession and dissection of a red Toyota Highlander. I began unearthing dichotomies and unexpected associations within this mundane object-- wondering how utilitarian and commonplace devices can effect us in such a visceral ways. As I studied the layers of this vehicle, literally and conceptually, it became the emblem of this past partner.

I saw it everywhere. My attention was drawn to anything red. I became fascinated by my own obsession with this artifact on which I projected my hurt and anxieties. A car is supposed to be a logistical tool that we use to get from one place to another. It wasn’t created to be experienced as a piece of emotional, psychological stimuli. It wasn’t made with the knowledge that you’d be haunted by the specific tone of the blinker or that you’d memorize the layout of a dashboard down to the depths of the ridges on the A/C dial. We dig around our memories for the contours of that chrome door handle, anticipating that it might also bring us back to a state of mind. So much happens in this space that it was never intended to cater to. 

Somehow this structured, hard-edged, geometric machine becomes an emotional relic, completely set apart from its purpose. It becomes inoperable; it melts, almost. We dissect it to digest it. Even if we acknowledge the unsolvable nature of our pursuit, it seems we have to continue obsessing, searching, dissecting.

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