‘Freedom of Choice’ speaks to the illusion of choice characteristic of consumer capitalism.

In ‘Freedom of Choice’, abstracted, child-sized wooden picnic tables are neatly lined with placemats. The pastel-tinted placemats, printed with fragments of suburban tract- house layouts, suggest that the reality of limited choice applies to more than just our food options. The placemats hold identical snacks: squiggle topped cupcakes, a food icon, along with drinks in styrofoam cups and folded paper napkins. These items are cast in golden beeswax, luminous Nature forced into manufactured form. Pretty and appealing with a translucent glow, the ‘snacks’ hint at a numbing reality. This simulacrum gives off a faint scent of honey, but like the real thing has no nutritional value.

Paper confetti is sprinkled on the tabletops, densely at one end and diminishing along the length of the piece. The party is ending. The tables, arranged in a long line, evoke an institutional setting. Kindergarten cafeterias, military, prison and internment camp mess halls all have much in common. But for scale, the tables in ‘Freedom of Choice’ could serve equally well in any of the above settings.

Media: Beeswax, Glass, Paper, Wood     Dimensions: 30″ x 26″ x 25′     Date: 2014