Skin Toned Garden Mapping 1991

Editor: Jessica Stockholder created "Skin Toned Garden Mapping" in 1991, a mixed-media installation that really throws you into an unusual space. It feels both playful and chaotic, and I'm immediately drawn to the use of color. What do you see in this piece, in terms of the symbolic language at play? Curator: The interplay of color here feels primal, almost coded. The "skin tones" reference flesh, but also potentially camouflage, something hidden in plain sight. Think of the "garden" itself - often symbolic of paradise, innocence, but here, disrupted, mapped out in disorienting ways. Do you think the rigid geometric shapes enhance that sense of disruption, that sense of re-mapping of symbols we already understand? Editor: Definitely. The rigid geometry contrasts with the organic idea of a "garden," creating a tension. So the ordered shapes almost act as a denial of the natural, freeform state of a garden. Is it a reflection on control? Curator: Perhaps. The colors are so deliberately unnatural – artificial. Stockholder presents us with a post-industrial "nature," one that's been processed and repackaged. Each of us possesses internalized landscapes shaped by cultural forces: a constructed Eden that’s also a coded landscape. Where do you see other familiar cultural codes within Stockholder's landscape? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way, but seeing the boards as walkways now makes me wonder if it’s about directing movement, controlling perspective within that artificial space, creating zones. Curator: Exactly! These aren’t casual materials; they’re deliberately loaded symbols, transformed by juxtaposition. And like old paintings or traditional forms, their cultural symbolism morphs as interpretations shift. Editor: It's fascinating to consider how seemingly random objects and colors can carry so much symbolic weight. Curator: Precisely! By unsettling these established relationships and familiar cultural tropes, the artist compels viewers to reconsider how we perceive, navigate, and ultimately define our shared spaces.