Ordained

Every word calls to mind its opposite, as does every piece in Ordained. It means to recognize something as holy, but it also means to predetermine. Every moment deserves to be honored, but it also calls to mind the history that brought us here and questions the possibility of change.

"Annointed" evokes the gentility of a monarch's crown and the viciousness of a shark's mouth."Hallowed" refers to the sanctity of the celebratory family meal, broken furniture and cake on the floor suggest a history of violence. Mold and other unruly growth are evident in "Cultivated," these curiously oversized slices of furry frosted cake. "Settled" calls to mind the long story leading up to an occasion and questions the hope of escaping the past. "Reified" manifests the visual associations we have with disparate objects. A celebratory flowered cake is clawed and decorated with a vile chicken hand in "Ordained." The contradictions are rampant in "Cinnamon Crunch," where sweet little cupcakes are involved with each other in love and war, and can bite you back or curse you out. This series explores how every tribute deserves a clear-eyed acknowledgment of the complexity of the moment.

Monica Banks

Monica Banks