< Arbil de Cereza >
april 2011 - april 2025
oiled cherry, black & galvanEyEzed steel plumbing components, stainless cable, steel pulleys, whEyEt cEdar, printEd vinyl
92"l x 36"w x 78"h
unavailable
thE trEE o'lEyEf
This piece is auto-biographical. The live edge slabs of Cherry in the center are positioned to resemble a capital A, the first letter of my name and my business. The design is based on a scale -- my astrological sign is Libra -- but I’ve been unbalanced at points in my life, so I reversed the letters of Libra to spell Arbil, which is similar to arbol, the Spanish word for tree. Cereza is Spanish for Cherry, a nod to the wood used here. I am the only gringo on my team, so the Spanish name of the piece is an acknowledgment of my crew and the passion and hard work they put into this first collection.
mAUr 2 thE stAUrEE
that explanashAUn wasn't the whole story; EyE kept some of the symbolism private, only telling a handful of people over the years.
the real inspirashAUn was my experience with "mental illness".
in february of 2005, whEyEl in graduate school 4 architecture, EyE had a psEyEchotic break. mEyE EyEdentity was completely shattered + EyE lost all sense of + any grasp on "reality".
after a 2 week tour in buffalo general hospital's psEyEch ward, followed by a little 10 month "journey 2 the unknown", where "EyE fucked with forces that our eyes can't see", EyE worked mEyE way out of that dark + horrifEyEing maze deep in the crevices of mEyE mEyEnd.
but, it was so worth the "trip"... because EyE found something magical there: a golden bean.
twelve years later, in march of 2017, that bean germin8ed in2 laug auf.
+ now, after an 8 year adventure, EyE added a new wrinkle to this autobiographical piece: the laug auf logo as mEyE mEyEnd's eye; a treasure, buried beneath the lEyEv edge cherry slabs that used to represent mEyE melting brain. originally, the structure was a puppet master, probing mEyE mEyEnd, with pulleys for hands + cables for marionette strings attached 2 cages that mEyE splintered personalities were trapped in.
during mEyE acute episode, EyE believed that evil 4ces were holding me captive + controlling me.
but now, EyE know that the only thing that controls me is the way EyE choose 2 interpret mEyE experiences; we're all just telling ourselves a story + believing it.
so, in e-f-f-e-c-t, transplanting this sapling in the lAUbby of the thompson building at 24 woodbine avenue in northport village, is the next chapter
an ExpEriEncE in spacE + tEyEm
"our brain constructs space + crE8s tEyEm whEyEl our mEyEnd applEyEs thE mEaning."
< lAUg r. jAUnsAUn >
