Sheila Ali

Amid the familiar iconography embedded in my artwork, I have found several trajectories of meaning. I create objects for an animate world using discarded junk. From the wreckage of post consumer waste, I construct detailed sets wi...

Hermeneutics in Outer Space

From the wreckage of post consumer waste, here is a miniature world that comes alive with the transformation from junk jewels to shiny insects, mop heads to shimmering tree tops, wisps of dog hair and fuzz into graceful, lifelike animals. With vivid color, the surprising vitality of garbage turn into extraterrestrial treasure. The set is made up of common objects: bottles, cans, grapefruit netting, twist ties, q-tips, marbles, old furry coats and human hair transformed into a lush and vivid landscape. In this short film, the metamorphosis of this delicate and intriguing place tells the story of a girl doll and her dog in outer space. Their childhood games of tag and hide-n-seek transcend the ruins of civilization, as we find ourselves lost in other-worldliness. 

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Amid the familiar iconography embedded in my artwork, I have found several trajectories of meaning. I create objects for an animate world using discarded junk. From the wreckage of post consumer waste, I construct detailed sets with miniature representations that come alive when transformed from their recognizable forms: bugs from junk jewels, trees out of mop tops, dogs from dog hair. These objects act as the mise-en- scene as well as taking on disparate meanings: the leftover commercialization, discovery, expectation, loss. It is the interpretative potential of signage, in fact, that shelters the context of my art and opens up the possibility of dialectic. Historically, natural objects of wonderment have led to the collection of man made curiosities (such as the relic, the miniature, and the artwork), as well as to the division of the sciences, the development of media; and, what has become consumer culture. Within the materiality of my process I attempt to rectify abstractions revolving around commodity fetish, as well as to give a voice to the imagination. The collection is manifested in the history of miniaturization, the souvenir, utopian fantasy, and illusion. These concepts embody the commodified spectacle, a relationship of both conscious wish fulfillment and the unconscious dream.

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Hermeneutics in Outer Space

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