Incubator 2

Submitted to and accepted by a local gallery for a juried exhibition of art made from recycled materials:

INCUBATOR
Assemblage by
Mike Riley

Dimensions: 42H x 18W x 6D

Materials:

1 baby doll purchased from Goodwill
1 cabinet door purchased from ReStore (Habitat for Humanity)
1 pre-owned frame with matte and glass purchased at St. Vincent DePaul
1 gutted computer enclosure from the recycle bin at my job
several circuit boards from various computers, computer accessories and 2 VCRs
wiring from several stripped down video, Ethernet and other assorted cables
an old iPod
1 blue glass “pebble” found on the floor at the gallery
1 red sequin
black, white and gold spray paint
several screws taken from desks and counters removed from and replaced with new office cubicles at my job

Artist’s statement:

This assembled artwork is a statement about what children coming into this world are experiencing: video games, the world wide web, smart phones, Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, etc.; a plethora of electronic devices and software applications. While providing a multitude of ways to express themselves creatively, artistically and intellectually, these also have often given our children the appearance of being brain-dead and molded into a “Borg-like” catatonic state preventing good physical health and access to fresh air and sunshine. At times it can seem almost as though they are being incubated for a bleak future in some collective where a mind of one’s own can be difficult to cultivate.