Jordan Hogan

Merging

Luna is the persona I inhabit at the strip club. Jordan is who I am in the rest of my existence. Being known as two different people means simultaneously leading two different lives. My brain felt split in two. With my body floating between the two realms I began to feel like a ghost of the person I once was. I floated so far away I got lost and feared I may never return to myself again. Creating merging has been an exercise in bridging the gap between these disparate aspects of my existence to create a realm in which Luna and Jordan can be whole together. This body of work celebrates this long awaited integration of the two selves: Luna and Jordan. The two selves are materially represented in the work through the two collections of found objects utilized to compose the sculptures. There is a collection of damaged wood and brick fragments and a collection of decommissioned dancewear. The aesthetic and intended function of the collections could not be more different from one another. However, all the objects entered the work, because they no longer served their intended functions. No longer serving their purpose, the objects became stuck between worlds. Not yet rendered useless, but also not useful. They were ghosts, stuck between two realms, much like I once was. By joining the disparate ghosts together, they transformed and became a part of a whole once more.

The other main element of merging is the collection of collages interspersed throughout the exhibition. Lace monotype prints hastily attached using visible masking tape to images taken from an issue of Exotic magazine, a publication focused solely on strip clubs in the state of Oregon. The monotype compositions are faint traces from the inked block and torn lace fragments. Both the prints and images are torn into fragments and taped back together to create a new whole. The pieces are taped so that none of the dancers' faces are visible. At their core, the collages are a connector. They tie the exhibition together by creating a strong sense of visual continuity. They are also a bridge between this body of work and a new vein of artistic exploration. This new trajectory focuses on dissecting archetypes of womanhood, much like Cindy Sherman did in her series of self-portraits titled Untitled Film Stills made from 1977-1980. The collages explore this concept by joining two opposing archetypes of womanhood tentatively labeled: the whore and the housewife. The two are placed together to highlight their differences and tease out their similarities.

@art4jupiter