St. Zoe of Rome (patron saint of great faith), Chloe Simmons - October 13 - December 1
St. Zoe of Rom (patron saint of great faith) is haphazardly constructed from a ‘smoldering zombie’ halloween decoration, a blonde costume wig, false eyelashes and an airbrushed t-shirt. Her eyes glow orange as she thrashes from side to side. Triggered by a motion sensor, she shouts a love poem by Gertrude Stein: To Alice B Toklas in a frightened, feminine, AI generated voice. The piece is suspended by a contrived contraption of ropes, a bungee cord, and carabiners in an intentionally failed attempt to make her look as though she is hanging from her hair, just as the depictions of the saint from which she gets her name. The phrase ‘seeing is believing’ doesn’t work here. The work doesn’t hide its falsehood. St. Zoe of Rom (patron saint of great faith) is a work about believing in something. It’s about letting go of fear and having faith in the world, that the world can change, that it can be what you want, that it can get better, that it will go on despite the constantly growing mountain of evidence to the contrary. It’s a work about unconditional love and the tremendous pain that comes with it.
-Chloe Simmons