xxxy, Oil and Spray Paint on Canvas, 48" x 48", 2011
The series of paintings entitled xxxy consist of a process of repetitive marking of the letters X and Y on the canvas, standing for the X and Y chromosome. A string of Xs and Ys produces a simultaneous portrait and landscape which is both indicative of a genetic code as well as an abstract form. The paintings are hung diagonally to further disorient the portrait/landscape tradition.
The execution of the paintings, produced in a moment of short duration and high speed, occurs in a sort of trance. The self-induced trance (trance here is used specifically in reference to its etymological origins as a site of fear or anxiety, and the Latin transir, or "to pass over.") is intended to provoke a composition that is to some degree channeled from the subconscious, and by association, as a direct translation from within my DNA. The speed and incoherence by which the works are executed also creates a fragmentation of text and language into points of pure abstraction.
The linguistic connotations of Cy Twombly's works, as well as Claude-Levi Strauss's parable of "The Writing Lesson," in Tristes Tropiques are significant formal references; in addition there is a strong affiliation with the surrealist practice of automatic writing and the supernatural channeling abilities of the Ouija Board.
The X chromosome was originally named not, as is often assumed, for its shape, but for its uniqueness - it was named X for being "unknowable" and difficult to decipher. The Y chromosome was then named once it was discovered to follow the X. This creates a curious overlap of formal characteristics (each actually visually resembles an X and a Y at the microscopic level) as well as linguistic convention. X and Y are also, significantly, the reference points for the Cartesian plane.
Jennifer A. Marshall Graves writes:
Sex chromosomes - particularly the human Y - have been a source of fascination for decades because of their unique transmission patterns and their peculiar cytology. The outpouring of genomic data confirms that their atypical structure and gene composition break the rules of genome organization, function, and evolution. The X has been shaped by dosage differences to have a biased gene content and to be subject to inactivation in females. The Y chromosome seems to be a product of a perverse evolutionary process that does not select the fittest Y, which may cause its degradation and ultimate extinction.
(Graves, J. A. M. 2006. "Sex-chromosome specialization and degeneration in mammals." Cell 124:901-914.)
Such mutability in the Y chromosome leads one to question the stability of our reproductive and sex-oriented biology and cultural behavior, and suggests the potential for a long-term, if only theoretical, collapse and fragmentation of the human species. In addition, the recent increase in intersex animals, especially frogs and aquatic life, from excessive hormone levels in natural water supplies via plastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial pollution, points to the possibility of environmental factors hastening such a degradation.
The xxxy paintings exist as both a symbolic demonstration of the process of chromosomal degradation as well a trace of predictive evidence should the human reproductive capacity turn off at a moment's notice.
xxxy (detail), Oil and Spray Paint on Canvas, 48" x 48", 2011
xxxy, Oil and Spray Paint on Canvas, 48" x 48", 2011
xxxy (detail), Oil and Spray Paint on Canvas, 48" x 48", 2011
Study for xxxy, Marker and Ink on Paper, 24" x 30", 2011
Study for xxxy, Marker and Ink on Paper, 18" x 24", 2011
Study for xxxy, Marker and Ink on Paper, 18" x 24", 2011
