ARTISTS STATEMENT

"Everything in this room right now is a part of me"

-David Berman 'We are real'

In August of 2020 I was going through a difficult time mentally. Aside from

online recovery meetings and virtual therapy appointments I had little to no outside human

contact. Faced with the question "If I could not perform (stand up comedy) who was I?"

Watching a documentary about Basquiat inspired me to find materials around my apartment

and create art. Having the realization that at my core, before I was anything else, I was

an artist. This show is to honor the work that I created some while in isolation,

some after and how I processed emotions that were too difficult for me to speak

and some I could not do justice with words. Using the space in the gallery between the

work to create distance is intentional. I wanted to give the works space to breathe and

stand on their own, separate from the other pieces. There is only water and sprite offered

because that's what I had when I was creating. The work is extremely personal and

very important to me which is why the work is worth so much.

Dark Money

This piece was created with hot glue, broken glass, dress shirt, wooden board, coffee cup, pens, shoes, neck tie, can, ruler, pen and notebook.

This is the first piece I created starting from a found shelf.

I used supplies that would be found in a office to create an altar

for the way work can be seen as a holy pursuit.

$25,000.00

SOLD

Duality

This piece was created with hot glue, broken glass, ethically sourced cow skull, blue spray paint, gold spray paint, wooden board.

$20,500.00

Phases of the sun

This piece was created with hot glue, modgepodge, two plastic skeletons, foam case, various paper clippings, gold spray paint, gold paint, red, yellow and blue paint, decorative mask.

$15,500.00

Trapped

This piece was created with modgepodge epoxy, a severed funko pop head, cardboard, a tripod, plastic bed frame corners, four knives, black glue sticks, clear glue stick, various disposable vapes, black spray paint, wooden modeling dummy, rope, Slurpee novelty head, plastic rose chicken bones, Dean Martin vinyl record sleeve, jogger pants material, electrical tape duct tape, Metal wire, picture frame, wooden board.

$25,000.00

Demon Inside

This piece was created with modgepodge epoxy, half of a Mickey Mouse chocolate fountain, chicken bones, Bane mask, hose of an ink sprayer, Ice Xing Funko pop, black paint, black Spray paint, hot glue, wood from a broken orate, plastic from discarded bags, four picture Frames, duct tape, clear tape, screws, nails, red food coloring, plug in light attached to the top, sits on a circular wooden rotating pedestal.

The demon is meant to represent the darker side of alcoholism that lives within. The case represents sobriety.

$22,500.00

Lovesong

This piece was created with magazine clippings, red paint, a dead rose and modgepodge epoxy.

$15,000.00

Lightwork

This piece was created with an ink aerosol device that once belonged to my Grandmother Joyce Baird. The device worked only long enough to create the piece then it broke beyond repair. The picture is of my Grandfather Richard Baird holding a baby (possibly my Uncle Stanford Baird)

(Not for sale)

Hellmouth

This piece was created with magazine clippings and modgepodge epoxy. This piece went through two different iterations. The first had a small paper skeleton encased in a plastic case in the center. It was made when I was home all the time and represented a level of fear and anxiety about leaving. The second iteration you see now is about living among the world and the people in the face of the fear. The face of the man in the center is my grandfather.

$15,500.00

Amun

This piece was created with magazine clippings, red paint, A state ID and modgepodge epoxy, shoes.

Amun’s name means “Hidden One, Mysterious of Form,” and although he is most often represented as a human wearing a double plumed crown. The implication is that his true identity can never be revealed.

$15,500.00

Dead Country

This piece was created with black paint, black marker plastic twist ties, paper cut out, red food coloring

This piece was intentionally not covered in modgepodge so that if you touch the piece without gloves the red food coloring will stain you and you will have blood on your hands.

$15,000.00

Contact for purchase inquiries

dust.industries.ceo@gmail.com

Los Angeles, CA