In Need of a Cut
Grass, Jut, Tin Mesh
Spring 2020
In Need of a Cut is the third iteration of the accumulated material headpieces I’ve made. The name comes from a biker who yelled the words at us while I was documenting the piece. I was slightly annoyed by it at first–silly of me to think that such an outlandish look wouldn’t invite spectacle, that’s kind of the whole point. But I think his statement echos the public sentiment of conformity that people often face when choosing how to express themselves. As I gathered grass from around a tennis court near my house and created bundles; I continued to think about how we express ourselves in different ways, and how the accumulation of materials changes our perception of them.
Grass is my most predictable iteration of these sculptures; as different grasses are often gathered and woven in many cultures, the idea to use it isn’t as jarring as aluminum. Regardless, I felt compelled to create something just to see it for myself, and as some sort of cathartic release of completing a train of thought as I continue to explore self-expression. The piece started to fall apart after moving it around, on and off my model, it also left hundreds of small seeds from the heads of the grass as they dried out. While an itchy pain to clean up after, it felt fitting, no use in trying to control or quell the grass as it completes its natural cycle of reproduction. The same can be said of humans– no use trying to conform or suppress who you are.