Paradise of Greenery (2016)
Paradise of Greenery is a series of works reintepreting a mural on sections of the West Bank barrier wall located on route 443, near Jerusalem. Likely completed by an official government contractor, the mural shows an idyllic green landscape and blue skies revealed through an aqueduct.  The mural is painted in a way that is reminiscent of a land from cartoons and video games such as Road Runner, or the Super Mario Brothers. In creating these works, I was  interested in how the mural creates flawed and problematic adoration of "place" through its abstraction-or the violence of abstraction. To learn more, check out my research video on Vimeo

Installation at Watson Hall Studios, Columbia University, New York, NY. Plywood, MDF, house-paint. 

Angled view of the sculpture "Paradise of Greenery." An 8 foot high by 8 foot long by 4 foot deep room on wheels. viewed from the front, there is a green ramp that reaches from the front bottom edge of the room to the middle of the back wall. The top section of the room has a window with a ceramic cactus on the ledge. The entire top half of the room is painted blue. With the green ramp and the blue wall, the room looks like a landscape of green pastures and blue skies. The entrance to the room is a large sheet of plywood in the shape of an orange archway. The sculpture was created by imagining what a mural on the Israeli Separation Barrier would look like in 3 dimensions

Installation at the Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY. Plywood, window, wheels, house paint, lights, ceramic. Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 8.5 feet. 2016.

Front view of the sculpture "Paradise of Greenery." An 8 foot high by 8 foot long by 4 foot deep room on wheels. viewed from the front, there is a green ramp that reaches from the front bottom edge of the room to the middle of the back wall. The top section of the room has a window with a ceramic cactus on the ledge. The entire top half of the room is painted blue. With the green ramp and the blue wall, the room looks like a landscape of green pastures and blue skies. The entrance to the room is a large sheet of plywood in the shape of an orange archway. The sculpture was created by imagining what a mural on the Israeli Separation Barrier would look like in 3 dimensions

Installation at the Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY. Plywood, window, wheels, house paint, lights, ceramic. Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 8.5 feet. 2016.

Detail of "Paradise of Greenery," showing a wall and window painted blue (the entire window is blocked in color), and a ceramic blue cactus sitting on the window ledge.

Installation at the Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY. Plywood, window, wheels, house paint, lights, ceramic. Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 8.5 feet. 2016.

Close up detail of "Paradise of Greenery" showing a ceramic blue cactus sitting on a window ledge.

Installation at the Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY. Plywood, window, wheels, house paint, lights, ceramic. Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 8.5 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. The sculpture is an archway at the entry to the gallery space, constructed out of pink foam and painted orange. From the archway drips down a bead curtain that creates a horizon cut from blue beads at the top and green beads at the bottom.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. The sculpture is an archway at the entry to the gallery space, constructed out of pink foam and painted orange, with a beaded curtain underneath. A male viewer walks through the archway and the beaded curtain attached to it.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. The sculpture is an archway at the entry to the gallery space, constructed out of pink foam with a beaded curtain underneath. A male and a female viewer walk through the archway and the beaded curtain attached to it.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. A close up of a beaded curtain shows blue and green beads

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. A close up of a beaded curtain shows blue and green beads with arms lifted through.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. The sculpture is an archway at the entry to the gallery space, constructed out of pink foam with a beaded curtain underneath. A female viewer walks through the archway and the beaded curtain attached to it.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

An interration of "Paradise of Greenery" at the Jewish Museum in New York. The sculpture is an archway at the entry to the gallery space, constructed out of pink foam with a beaded curtain underneath. A viewer stands underneath the archway while pulling the beaded curtain open with his arms to the right of the image.

In-Response: Unorthodox event at the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Pink insulation foam, painted bead curtain, house paint. Dimensions:​​​​​​​ 10 x 10 feet. 2016.

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