Dental Gag

BFA Alumni

Major: Metalsmithing & Jewelry

Graduation Year: 2011

Artist Statement:

The division between fiction and reality can be a struggle to distinguish. From Cabinets of Curiosity that were meant to document natural and manmade wonders in the past to news reports based on urban legends that are easily circulated and promulgated in the internet age, people are fascinated by and at times easily duped into believing the authenticity of fictional narratives. While at times this willingness of others to accept the fictional is a source of frustration, the sense of wonder and doubt one feels when confronted with something that feels to be stranger than fiction can be amusing.

This body of work is centered on the Cordyceps fungus. In reality, this species infects and controls the minds of insects. The fungus then blossoms from the insect’s body, killing it. The sight is at once horrifying and beautiful. Here, a variation of Cordyceps that infects human hosts is under examination. These pieces reference an assortment of tools based on surgical and dental tools of the past, as well as groundbreaking medical technologies like stem cell organ transplants that will be utilized in people in the near future.