GUMMO
Sparked by Harmony Korine's 1997 abstract movie GUMMO, this piece references the BUNNY BOY character that acts as a silent narrator throughout the film.
Aware of the camera and capable of breaking the fourth wall, this nameless, ageless boychild is the embodiment of American boyhood rebellion and the hardships of it.
This small boy smokes cigs, has knuckle tattoos, pees on cars driving under his overpass and plays the accordion in public restrooms. He is completely and totally free to do whatever he likes with no parental supervision. This does not mean his life is carefree, he is viciously picked on by Junkyard Cowboys no older than him who shoot him with blanks and hurl homophobic slurs at him.
But here we see the true strength of BUNNY BOY, he pretends to be dead for so long that eventually the boys get tired and scared of the game they created and leave BUNNY BOY alone.
Shot in the Indiana horror fun house “Reapers Realm Haunted Attractions”, I attempted to transform into a modern understanding of American outcasts through my lens.
The fabricated art piece itself is a laser printed fabric quilted with machine sewn text written both forward and backwards so the reader must look both inside and outside. The text consists of quotes from the movie describing the landscape in which this character exists. “American Rebel” “DAMN YOU RABBIT” “V8 PUSSY & CADILLAC ASS” “WE HATE YOU” “SUBURBIA GONE WRONG” “QUEER LITTLE BUNNY EARS”. The edges are unwoven and crystalized using borax similar to the unweaving and crystallization of a time gone by town where we meet BUNNY BOY.
This tent-like piece is my attempt to become BUNNY BOY in 2019. The image that is on the front and back is me in my own BUNNY BOY costume with fluorescent green ears made out of wire and fake hair, Pink full body fishnets, and a handmade green jumpsuit complete within full clown drag makeup.
