Project Statement

Trophy Shelf is a set of trophies given to the most annoying things posted on social media.  In a culture that is quick to reward some for the most minor of acheivements, this work reflects the absurdity of the process. We can collectively agree on those things that we find annoying about social media while at the same time be guilty of participating in those same things that we despise.  The trophies’ surfaces are rendered by the use of a simulation of Vantablack.  Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is one of the darkest substances known, absorbing up to 99.96% of visible light.  It has been exclusively licensed to artist Anish Kapoor’s studio for his artistic use which caused outrage among other artists for the absurdity of monopolizing an artistic material. In retaliation, artist Stuart Semple created a pigment called “Better Black” that replicates the light absorbing technology of Vantablack and made it affordable and accesible to all artists except for Anish Kapoor which insued in a war of words played out on social media.

The trophies in this series are harvested from various resale shops, broken down, and recreated with the various parts.  Utilizing existing trophies, that were once valued and prized objects that later get discarded on to the trash heap of history was an interesting material for me as the artist to explore.  The trophies are hand painted with Stuart Semple’s “Better Black 2.0” material.