This content was published: September 1, 2007. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Vicki Lynn Wilson – Ms. Natural Disaster 2007
Rock Creek Helzer Gallery
September 2007
Ms Natural Disaster 2007 is a wearable installation where a sudden volcanic explosion is combined with a Las Vegas style beauty pageant contestant. It’s as though the natural disasters are holding a contest to choose the most horribly beautiful amongst them, to see who will supremely devastate humanity in the coming year.
I have always enjoyed parades for the sheer spectacle of humanity, the boastfulness and the excess. From my school days as a marching band captain (and pageant contestant) to my involvement in larger theatrical productions, I love a parade. I now see them as a great installation challenge and an even greater installation opportunity. I couldn’t wait to see a glittering volcano trying to be graceful in the streets of New York City. I could call it a self-portrait on many levels, even if someone else had worn the costume.
In my studio work, I’ve been developing an allegorical language where wild animals stand in at the most volatile human interactions and natural disasters become the resulting landscapes of those actions. This presentation is, for me, a very exciting step toward fusing the ideas from my studio practice with a theatrical spirit that I have always enjoyed.