Decoy: What Side of The Bed Does Your Soul Wake Up On, 2018 by Vanessa German, is a mixed media assemblage. It measures approximately five and a half feet tall, four feet wide, and two feet deep overall. The sculpture consists of two standing figures positioned side by side on white painted pedestals, which rest on a wooden platform base. The left figure is mostly white, its surface densely covered with ceramic and porcelain objects including teacups, bowls, decorative roses, and bead-like objects. The face lacks pronounced features such as eyes or a nose, with textured indentations running vertically down towards the lips. A crown-like floweremerges from the head, topped by a skateboard that serves as a platform for a white swan decoy with and orange beak. In contrast to the first figure, the one next to it is entirely black with fibers that drape towards the ground in tangled, matted layers . Unlike the white sculpture, this one is barefoot, with five toes visible. The neck of the figure is adorned with thick coils of black beaded necklaces that rise to meet the bottom of the chin. The lips are prominent, and a black swan decoy sits atop of the figure’s head facing forward, covering its eyes and nose.
vanessa german
vanessa german
b. 1976, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; lives in Asheville, North Carolina