medal

sterling silver, steel, ribbon, acrylic paint, american eagle bullion coin

I am working on fleshing out my ideas around the American Terror series, and I'm very happy with this new piece. I do want to screen print a new ribbon, this one is stamped, I was trying to reference the stencilling on military equipment but I don't think it works.

I am thinking of showing this work with my danger series. I like the idea that when we view the dangerous jewelry on its own it may make us giggle, but viewing it alongside the terror pieces is quite different - and hopefully calls into question our own humanity.

I'm just beginning this body of work and am starting with a lot of questions. To what degree are American citizens complicit in this? Do we all agree that there was and is torture happening in Iraq and Afghani prisons? What about Vietnam? Can individuals do anything about it? Do we want to? Is torture a part of human nature, a symptom or war, or both? Is it unpatriotic to condemn our troops for torture practices in the midst of a war?

I have plenty of questions, but that's enough for now. What do you think?