Acceptance
Anxious
Appearance Of Power
Bandwagoner
Blame
Bound To Norms
Bullying
Calumny
Coercive
Collectivism
Compliant
Conformity
Constraints
Consumer
Continuous Stress
Convenience
Corruption
Craving Security
Disdainful
Disinformation
Distrustful
Dogmatic
Easily Victimized
Exclusion Of Others
Exploitative
Extremist
Far-Right
Fear
Fearful
Good Girl
Helplessness
Importance Of Appearances
Indecisive
Inhibited
Integralism
Intimidation
Isolationist
Justification For Inequality
Lack Of Dialogue
Lower Income
Machiavellianism
Manipulative
Middle Income
Narcissism
Need For Toughness
Not A Creator
Obedience
Overworked
Perceived Order
Perceived Prosperity
Perceived Status
Personality
Political Disengagement
Political Passivity
Populism
Privilege
Reactive
Reduced Ambiguity
Regimentation
Repression
Right Of Center
Rigidity
Situational Motives
Skepticism
Social Controls
Stagnancy
Subordination
Sycophancy
Think For Me
Threatened
Tolerance
Unexamined Bias
Unity Via Conformity
Acceptance Anxious Appearance Of Power Bandwagoner Blame Bound To Norms Bullying Calumny Coercive Collectivism Compliant Conformity Constraints Consumer Continuous Stress Convenience Corruption Craving Security Disdainful Disinformation Distrustful Dogmatic Easily Victimized Exclusion Of Others Exploitative Extremist Far-Right Fear Fearful Good Girl Helplessness Importance Of Appearances Indecisive Inhibited Integralism Intimidation Isolationist Justification For Inequality Lack Of Dialogue Lower Income Machiavellianism Manipulative Middle Income Narcissism Need For Toughness Not A Creator Obedience Overworked Perceived Order Perceived Prosperity Perceived Status Personality Political Disengagement Political Passivity Populism Privilege Reactive Reduced Ambiguity Regimentation Repression Right Of Center Rigidity Situational Motives Skepticism Social Controls Stagnancy Subordination Sycophancy Think For Me Threatened Tolerance Unexamined Bias Unity Via Conformity
Traps, 2025.
A ceramics sculptural installation exploring a garden that grows authoritarianism.
Inspired by an Instagram post in July of 2023 from an ingeniously creative polymath musician, composer, artist, and designer, that likened the participation in the cultish appeal of a presidential candidate to becoming ensnared willingly in a Venus Fly Trap. The metaphor captured and enveloped my attention. I felt compelled to paint a small image of the post, created a ceramic frame for the painting, and sent it off to the author as a thank you for the metaphor and use of his voice and platform to share an opinion.
Since then, I’ve been continually haunted by the visual metaphor.
Even then, prior to the election, it felt insufficient to place such powerful ownership of a political movement antithetical to American ideals on one person. The candidate’s demeanor left doubt in many Americans minds of whether this disruptor truly realized the potential impact of the promises and behaviors.
There had to be far more people involved; people who would soon benefit from pillaging the government systems, removal of protections, stripping of rights and benefits, and manipulating the checks and balances of the governmental institutions.
It wasn’t one carnivorous plant, attributed to one person.
There were many, many traps.
Each trap holds a trait, written in cursive, 3D printed, and leafed in metal. Each trait expressed alone can be beneficial, indifferent, or malignant. Placed together, and encouraged under specific conditions, the garden grows. A clear resin encapsulates the trait, and coats the interior of the trap to further lure engagement with the viewer.
The potted plant sculptures resemble carnivorous plants, similar to Venus Fly Traps.
I delighted in the irony of the metaphor many times, as a Venus Fly Trap is deceptively difficult to grow and they thrive on neglect. Rich soil, fertilizer, or even common tap water is fatal to the plant… it’s too nutritious. Too much prey fed to the plant will cause the trap to rot.
Much like Authoritarianism and Fascism, the system flourishes where there is a balance of energy spent on it; the plant grows when some parts are favored, and others are left to perish.
Viewers of the sculpture interact physically by walking between and through a small garden of potted and unpotted traps, peering into the tops to read and discern the cursive written traits, deciding their level of participation, much like the prey of the plants.
