Shanty Town

2016

animal and human pelvises, red ink

dimensions variable

The piece consists of animal pelvises covered entirely by red-ink numbers starting from zero until the pelvis is completely covered. The title of the piece refers to the huge shanty towns or favelas in cities like Caracas—cities within cities constructed on hills, unplanned, precarious, often dangerous. Shantytowns result when corrupt governments do not guarantee the basic needs to their underserved populations, who must then take their necessities and survival into their own hands. The pelvises refer to the body’s natural protection of its reproductive organs, where living beings feel basic desires such as sex, reproduction, and waste elimination. In humans, the pelvis cradles the center of gravity.