B.F.A. Portfolio Dash Maxwell 2019

Disclaimer

This portfolio contains work that I produced studying Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia from 2017-2020. Some projects contain nudity.

-Dash

Flayed, Sculpture, 2019

Flayed is a motion activated sculpture initially inspired by The Lover’s Discourse by Roland Barthes. It is composed of two wooden capsules separated by a glass compartment. Sitting upon a porcelain plinth within the glass is a chocolate statuette of Cupid, the god of love. Behind, one of the glass panes has been replaced with a mirror. Above the plinth hangs a lamp connected to a motion sensor. Those who approach Cupid risk activating the lamp and eventually melting him away.

Flayed was nominated for the BMO 1st Art Award

The Lovers Discourse, Roland Barthes

Flayed installation

, Photo Series,

Big Nudes II

Big Nudes II is a recreation of Helmut Newton’s synonymous series from the 1980s. After putting out an open call, I mimicked the original images using a diverse range of models: I used men, women, as well as those who exist outside of the traditional gender binary. By taking the conventional signifiers of gender and beauty, and reshuffling them along with their implied counterparts, I developed a deeper understanding of the relationship between beauty, the work of art, the depicted subject, and the audience.

“...as though I were under a spell: at that moment, I could not even understand why I had the idea of removing my trousers and continuing that anguishing exploration only in my shirt. And yet I stripped off my clothes, piece by piece, leaving them on a chair, keeping only my shoes on. With a flashlight in my left hand and the revolver in my right hand, I wandered aimlessly, haphazardly. A rustle made me switch off my lamp quickly. I stood motionless, whiling away the time by listening to my erratic breath. Long, anxious minutes wore by without my hearing any more noise, and so I flashed my light back on, but a faint cry sent me fleeing so swiftly that I forgot my clothes on the chair.”

-Story of the Eye, Georges Battaille

This work consists of a video projected on two screens, with only one channel playing at a time. The video depicts a white plinth on which I place and destroy several glass cups. As I destroy a cup, the video switches channels and is then projected onto the opposing wall. The viewer, who stands between the alternating screens, turns back and forth as they attempt to see the moment the bat shatters the glass. However, they never will as the frame containing that decisive moment is lost in the transfer.

Die Hard Mixed Media (Dildo, Hypodermic Needle, Canine Semen), 2019

Anonymous, 2019

Portraits by Prostitutes

Photo Series (Canvas, Antique Frames), 2019

Nicole, 2019

Untitled (Metronome), Mixed Media, 2018