Mouthpieces

For my 1973 Opening exhibition, I created a series of Mouthpieces in 2 dimensions and 3 dimensions.

The 2 dimensional series featured photographs of my own mouth with different elements collaged into them. I wanted to explore the idea of the feminine mouthpiece, the fact that the feminine has not had a voice and now she wants to open wide. She wants to be heard, but not just her words, her feelings, her sensations, want to find a voice.

So I used the tools of surrealism, combining familiar objects in unfamiliar ways, to create a ‘shock of recognition’. I wanted them to be very visceral to elicit a reaction, teetering on the borderline between beauty and queasiness. Often using familiar phrases for the titles, I sought a ‘double take’ from my viewer.