Vestiges, Book & Installation, 1992-94
8" x 10" x 1.5”, Limited Edition of 20
Silk Paper, Xerox, Manipulated Silver-prints

Vestiges was first exhibited in 1992 as a site-specific installation at The Emily Edwards Gallery at the Southwest Craft Center, San Antonio, Texas and re-designed later as a free-standing installation. For the Thirty-YearRetrospective, Grant installed a portion of the original work. In both versions, Grant incorporates a limited edition artist's book with a mixed-media installation that examine issues surrounding animal welfare. Combining text, medical illustrations of animal hearts with the human heart, the bookwork powerfully addresses the misrepresentation and commodification of animals. The surrounding installation of three-dimensional elements supports and enhances issues addressed in the book.

The bookwork is displayed on an altar-like table in the center of the installation.  A computer-synthesized sound track by artists Paul DeMarinis and Laetitia Sonami from their 1991 performance, Mechanization Takes Command emanates from beneath the altar where the book is displayed.

The combination of text and imagery suggests a critical consciousness that focuses on moral and ethical principles and concurrently questions traditional cultural belief systems.  The surrounding installation of three-dimensional elements supports and enhances issues addressed in the book.

The photographs in the book and installation are original silver-prints of medical illustrations manipulated using a variety of processes--sand paper, solvent transfers and conté crayon--and are mounted on silk paper.  The lush textural quality of the manipulated hearts creates a seductive veneer that deliberately overpowers and obliterates the text. 

Vestiges was originally installed in a gallery space utilizing four walls of the gallery. From floor to ceiling, the walls contained texts applied with powdered tempura paint through a stencil.

The texts consist of animal's names repeated 31,000 times juxtaposed randomly with the word "murder." The repetitive rows of words are emotionally powerful and overwhelming in their symbolically vulnerable and translucent state.

Six 60" x 72" segmented crosses, each representing a specific animal, are mounted above the walls texts along with 72 votive candles. 

The crosses consist of hand-manipulated silver-prints mounted on aluminum.  The shape of the cross echoes the symbol used by the Red Cross. 

For a more complete description of the project, navigate to “Vestiges” under the “Book Arts” or “Projects” tab on this website.

Acquisitions: Contact Conduit Gallery
Exhibitions: Contact Susan kae Grant