Roxanne Jackson: We Believe in Some Thing

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More About

• Roxanne Jackson
• Mick Jagger
• Hermann Rorschach

Though I have never really thought about it before, there is definitely something predatory about Mick Jagger. At least, that is what I find myself thinking when I gaze upon Roxanne Jackson's ceramic sculpture Devouring Mother, a shaggy-haired, decapitated head with pouty red lips that consume the face. From afar it appears to almost be a caricature of what we consider human beauty, but after a closer look one may see something entirely different: bared fangs and a face smeared with blood. Mother could represent any celebrity out there right now—and there are many—on the hunt for fame. This duality of interpretation is a common theme in "We Believe in Some Thing," a series of ceramic works (and the occasional Rorschach test) by Jackson, an artist who also employs fabric, gold details, and fur to create unsettling and unusual pieces of art. One head, called Becoming, suggests both monstrosity and natural progression. Animal heads adorned with gold horns are mounted on walls, while human heads stuffed with bleeding hearts are hung nearby, furthering the juxtaposition of life and death, predator and prey, beauty and repulsion. The MIA will host a variety of events around this exhibition, including an opening reception beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 27, an artist's talk at 7 p.m. September 17, and a critic's discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 15.
Aug. 28-Nov. 1, 2009