I have discovered another artistic genius - Mark Jenkins. When I first saw Jenkins’ work I was reminded of Banksy; they both produce street installations around the globe which force you to contemplate social issues, and yet they’re somewhat humourous in a dark sort of way. Coincidentally, as I was delving into my research, I found out that they’re both represented by the same London gallery, Lazarides.

Jenkins is an American born artist and has been in the contemporary art scene since 2003. It was then when he made his first street sculpture of a giant sperm made from packing tape which he then let surf the waves of the ocean. As you can imagine, he had many odd stares and a few curious people asking what the hell it was. Apparently the next most popular question was, “How many rolls of tape did it take?”

The idea of tape sculptures first occurred to him as a child, but was told “don’t waste tape” and so he put off his ambition for the next 20 years or so. Some of the sculptures, as you can see in the images below, have been clothed. They’re rather witty and amusing but at the same time they express some social reminders. His sculpture of a homeless tape dummy seems to blend in with the littered and grafted surroundings, and ashamedly, people are rather desensitised to the sight of him.

His series called the Storker Project is described by Jenkins as;

“…a species propagation movement by STORKER seeking to incite select individuals from the public at large, perhaps you. If while passing by one you feel strange sensations in your nipples or fingertips, adopt the infant, breast feed, and give it plenty of TLC. It will gradually mature to a full size Tape Man or Woman to co-habitate with you and eventually take you to the Glazed Paradise (or possibly oust you from your home).”

It involves 106 tape babies (see top right image above) in 82 places which represent the fragility, beauty and vulnerability of life. Sometimes they’re arranged in a playful manner and sometimes they’re placed as to seem like they’re isolated or fending for themselves. He once had a homeless man direct him to display several tape babies so that they were facing each other as he wasn’t happy with Jenkins’ original display. The man said if they’re facing each other it would appear as if they were “brothers helping each other out”.

One of the cool things about Jenkins is he has dedicated an entire website to tape sculpture tutorials. You can see some of the sculptures the public have made here. He’s also made several videos where you get to watch the public’s reactions - sometimes it’s quite bizarre. You have to watch this video below of All You Can Eat. It’s pretty funny but at the same time disturbing - it makes you wonder why the diners are behaving so casually.

ALL YOU CAN EAT

Big love,

Ivy

xx