Girl and Deer

aka Unintentional Oppression

I made this in january/february. The goal of the project was to make a mask showing a metamorphosis or combination of two animals.

My idea behind this piece was to show how humans often project their own views, without trying to see things from different perspectives. We think that everything is going well, because we are thriving, but rarely do we stop to think what effects our progress has on the rest of the world. Humans continue to construct houses, factories, and complexes, and in the process, destroy the habitats of many creatures. However, we maintain the idea that this is necessary, or justify or deflect the issue, even on a small scale. For example, at least where I live, deer are always eating plants from people's gardens. Instead of thinking about the fact that we are probably the ones who took over their habitat, forcing them to find other food sources, we refer to them as pests and build fences to keep them out.

Anyway, that is why the woman is holding the deer's head with her hand over its mouth. Sorry this was unusually preachy. I felt I should explain, because from the image, most people would probably just assume it depicts a curious woman and a friendly deer. Made from medium-fired soldate clay with iron oxide (deer), rutile (hat), and barnard (hair) stains, blue slip for the ribbon, and some clear glaze on the eyes. About 8 inches across, 2.5 inches deep, and 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.