Daphne Blessing
Undergraduate, Visual Art Studies
Family Tree
Mixed media sculpture (plastic, fabric, foam board, paint, wood, wire hangers, hot glue)
This tree made of repurposed and recyclable materials stands slightly over eight feet tall in a corner space of the gallery. Fabric scraps and buttons found at a local thrift shop as well as plastic bags and plastic bottles collected by myself and my family over the course of a week makes up the tree structure. Three doves inspired by crime scene body outlines hang from the branches by trash nooses. Real pine bark is visible in the central hole of the tree but the vibrant orange zipper will only continue to hide what is natural underneath. The tree is made of these waste materials from society’s consumerism showing how humans are overtaking nature and the deadly effect it is having on animals and the environment. My work aims to bring awareness to each viewer, so that they will reflect on their own consumerism and what they throw away, and to encourage them to reuse and repurpose more. I hope that the work will inspire changes in lifestyle choices of people to help resurrect the nature we've damaged instead of continuing to destroy it.
