| Dominion, Lauren Davies, 2007 |
"Dominion" is a mixed-media installation comprised of digital prints, dioramas, models and hand-carved objects. The work was conceived around a moldy, water-damaged 1940's French school map of colonial Africa acquired at a flea-market in France. Photographic images of sections of the deteriorating map were digitally printed on cotton fabric. Map segments of various countries, whose names and histories have changed many times over, are juxtaposed with images of the rear side of the map. The map's linen backing is covered with expansive stains and mold that flare into shapes that mimic the African continent's coastline. Rust spots appear as tiny islands. A series of objects and dioramas surround the map - a tiny hand carved giraffe was whittled away until its head fell off and was reattached with a shoestring; bars of Ivory brand soap soap have been carved into elephant tusks; and a fabricated gorilla paw lies on the floor like a lost glove. A model of a termite mound explores the environmental simulations used by zoos to keep captive chimpanzees intellectually challenged and stimulated. Models of dirtballs covered with a dusting of snow surround a broken chair - goodbye to the snows of Kilimanjaro and everything else for that matter.
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