Satellite

May 16, 2013

Copper, oil, on a steel gas cap filler door from a Nissan 200SX
18 x 14.5 x 2.5 cm

These current works in the Flappe series use Nissan 200SX gas cap lid doors.

Generally I avoid using materials from automobile wrecking parts given that these works are frequently exhibited within atmospherically-controlled conditions in museums and other institutions. As such I avoid possibility of contamination and minimize the use of solvents which would be required to clean off carbon and other pollutant deposits found on used car parts. As of June, 2013, I understand that all the unused gas cap lid doors available from Nissan in North America and Japan are exhausted.

The Flappes series was inaugurated in 2012 and continues the artist's exploration of automobile parts as foundational object, begun in the Coppers from the Hood series (2007 - today). Based on gas cap lid doors, Flappes are covered in copper leaf and painted with imagery. Like the Coppers series, Flappes reference the artist's fascination with the aesthetically pleasing, problematic and highly symbolic nature of the automobile.