Laid Bare

Laid Bare- Latex condoms, found chaise lounge (circa 1880), 66”x 22”x 38”

Laid Bare explores cultural constraints within the contemporary sexual experience through a Victorian lens. As a living material, latex lends itself to conversations that engage shelf life, brief encounters, and expiration, yet these taboos of past eras live on.

Laid Bare is one of the 19 artworks in the traveling art exhibition Preservatif. This show draws focus to the many potentials of latex - as a material to be reinterpreted and re-imagined. In the Fall of 2013, Niki Johnson donated a semi-full of French condoms nearing expiration. Rather than see this shipment go to a landfill, Johnson and co-curator Kim Hindman invited a select number of national artists to propose and create artwork from the shipment for the show.