Contemporary urban identity has been both shaped and branded by the word, “hood”. The sculptures presented from The Hood Series derived from my fascination with the root of this word and sparked an investigation into its meaning. From characters like Red Riding Hood to Franciscan monks, they all share the physical characteristic of the hood – the hood used to guard and protect ones’ virtue. The modern language use of “hood” brings to mind the urban setting of the neighbor-hood; or to name the criminal underbelly: hood-lums; their actions: hood-wink; or a piece of everyday urban apparel: hoody.

The Hood Series sculptures evoke the imagery of people cloaked in hoods, which endeavor to equally conceal their identity and protect their humanity. The sculptures embody both figurative forms and urban dwellings that demonstrate coexisting characteristics of decay and renewal. These thick wood pieces are carved, painted and weathered on the outside suggesting the survival of objects against the test of time and erosion. Their outer shells possess a heavy, rustic texture that provokes the presence of both the organic and man made materials. Hood sculptures open up like a hardened shell, beholding a vulnerable interior of organic forms shaped from pig intestines.
Upon closer inspection there are no ‘faces’ under these hoods, instead the sculptures open up to expose an interior of sharp, abrasive wire and organic forms constructed from pig intestine (chitterlings). The cultural connection of pig intestine represents an ability to transform refuse into substance and to survive and thrive from the scraps. With this series, I take seemingly simple words and basic foods that are both culturally loaded with meaning and transform them into unlimited possibilities.