LATEX FANTASIES/SLIGHT ALTERATIONS 1991-1994

Included in this series is a collection of Latex Fantasies, prototypes of consumer items Mary Ellen would have liked to see produced, such as a jar of pickled penises titled Men I Have Known, a big-game trophy titled Homo Erectus, a string of Party Lights, and a cigar box full of penises with the label It’s a Boy! There is also a selection of jock straps titled Slight Alterations, modeled on women’s undergarments, which have been altered to fit the male anatomy. The set includes padded, underwire, sexy thong and tummy control models. They come in various sizes, from A to DD cups.

Two identical latex casts of her stomach labeled “before” and “after,” titled Getting In Shape, are a rejection of diet industry standards.

A latex skin of a man, Corpse de Dubuffet, is modeled on Jean Dubuffet’s famed “Corps de Dames” series. In a second incarnation, it lays over an ironing board with a clothes iron perched on top, titled Creation of Man.

Finally, Booths: The Socialization of the Species compares and contrasts gender assumptions as played out in these two types of booths: the BOYS side is a porn peep show booth (replicated in meticulous detail), while the GIRLS side is a Confessional booth. As she looks at herself in the one-way mirror glass, she is encouraged to reflect on what she did to ‘deserve it’ by a bible verse above the mirror (Jeremiah 13:22), while the boy gets to beat off looking in at her.

These artist books were originally exhibited in this series. Details appear in the gallery page titled “Book Art.”