Winning 2022

Curator: Jason Limon created this mixed-media piece, "Winning," in 2022. I see so many interesting intersections in the symbolic material! Editor: My first thought is it’s got such a strangely playful vibe, considering we're staring at a contraption of skeletons. This is like a state fair game from beyond the grave! Curator: Exactly! The gambling wheel featuring card suits, skulls where we would normally expect to see numbers or prizes—the darker undercurrent is evident. The whole setup prompts reflection on luck and the inevitable ending we all face. Editor: Oh, absolutely, a dark game indeed. The craftsmanship has this almost childlike quality too. Look at the way the bones are rendered on that support strut, very paste-up, folk-art like… almost makes you want to pull the little lever and see what fate deals. I can practically hear the creaks and groans. Curator: Limon seems to point to the public spectacles throughout history, from the morality plays to modern gaming, reflecting how we constantly frame these large questions around the spectacle of winning and losing, using potent symbolism from folk-art traditions to deliver it. Editor: Totally! And that little skeletal figure desperately holding onto the wheel? It kind of perfectly captures the whole human struggle, you know? Gripping tight to our chances, however slim or rigged they might be. Kinda bleak, but, uh, beautifully bleak. Ironic beauty at its finest, like a bittersweet joke. Curator: In seeing how he layers this rich symbolic meaning, “Winning” reflects on humanity’s longstanding preoccupation with fortune, fate, and the societal performances surrounding the act. Editor: Right, Limon serves up death and chance with a wink. Definitely makes you think. The execution is masterfully mischievous. I won't look at a Vegas slot machine the same way ever again.