Star Screwed, 2022
Description :
Star Screwed uses wordplay and an absurd transformation of an everyday object to examine ambition, recognition, and the pressure to succeed. At the center of the work is a sculpted peanut whose familiar shell has been split and held together with screws, turning a naturally enclosed form into something visibly repaired and constrained. The title plays on the desire to become a “star” while suggesting the less visible experience of being “screwed” by the very systems, expectations, and sacrifices involved in pursuing success. The disproportionately large brass pedestal elevates this small, ordinary object to the status of something precious and monumental, questioning how value and importance are constructed. Through humor and material contradiction, Star Screwed reflects on the vulnerability beneath ambition, where the pursuit of recognition can simultaneously build, expose, and hold a person together.
