Agape Charmani for Art-Sheep
Rachel Lee Hovnanian is a New York-based artist who locates and explores the flaws of contemporary notions, like consumerism and new media. The artist expresses her sarcastic and often raw commentary through a combinatorial work, composed of sculpture, photography, video and installation art.
Hovnanian likes to shock and provoke her audience, by creating uncomfortable situations in surreal environments, that “undress” man’s narcissism, consuming interest and excess try to achieve and succeed. One of these situations, is her installation Perfect Baby Showroom. In this work, the perfect human has been manufactured and is ready to be bought by parents, according to their preferences. Newborn baby-dolls are stacked in what looks to be a laboratory, while cables connect their “cribs” to power sockets on the walls. Their little heads rest on candy-pillows, a product that has always played an important role in children’s upbringing, stamina and of course, bad teeth.
Through her powerful hints and literal depictions of our dependence on technology, the artist warns us on what the future holds for a humanity that is so obsessed with evolving, it will stop procreating. A world so used to being convenient and having access to all kinds of comforts, that won’t be able to remember how to just satisfy its needs.