Device for Filling a Void (4)

In her series Devices to Fill a Void, Lauren Kalman has created minimal ceramic and metal forms that are inserted into the wearer's mouth. When worn they distort the model's face and impede speech and swallowing. The documentation of the wearer's discomfort speaks to extremes of style and social dictates of fashion and consumerism. Kalman states, "My work combines functional and craft objects, sculpture, photography, video, installation and performance. Through my work, I bring to light uncomfortable connections in visual culture between body image, media, class, and style. Historically my work has referenced diseases like acne, cancer, herpes, and elephantiasis, or physical trauma like amputation and facial reconstruction surgery; presenting them as jeweled infections, fabric growths, or wearable electronic instruments."