Animal

Click on each image below to enlarge:

  • A black and white triptych containing, from left to right, a drawing of a hand with two of the fingers shaded in, an x-ray of a forearm, and a photograph of a young girl. The young girl is facing to the right of the frame and is screaming. Lobster claws have been painted over her hands. The text under the triptych reads “Fig. 30. Hemimelia: terminal, paraxial, central.”

Lobster Girl

2010
Oil Paint on Digital Print on Paper
5.5′ x 3.5′ (66″ x 42″)

  • A black and white photograph of a child without arms smiling back at the photographer, wearing a hat and blouse. The child sits on a chair; behind the child, on the right side of the photo, is a landscape painting of a river, and on the left side the leaves of what appears to be a spider plant can be seen. The child resters their feet on a guitar, which they seem poised to play. Painted onto the photograph are three yellow arrows, two which point to each of the child’s feet, and another to the child’s mouth, in which a mouth stick has been painted.

No Arms!

2010
Oil Paint on Digital Print on Raw Canvas
4’ x 6’ (48” x 72”)

  • A black and white photograph on a white page of a man with dark hair and a mutton chop beard. He wears a long sleeve black shirt and black pants. At the bottom of the page, the word “...of the sideshow” appear. Painted on the man’s shirt are the words “Piss on Pity,” and a penis which sprays a bright yellow stream of urine out off the right side of the frame.

Piss On Pity

2010
Oil Paint on Digital Print on Raw Canvas
4’ x 6’ (48” x 72”)

  • A page scanned from a book, on which four images appear. The images are named Fig. 121, Fig. 122, Fig. 123, and Fig. 124. The top of the page reads “Child Prosthesis Design and Fitting” and lists the page number, 169. The first figure shows a child in crutches with one leg. The second figure shows a prosthesis outfitted with two legs and shoes. The third figure shows the child in the prosthesis facing forward, the fourth facing away. The child’s face and skin has been painted over with white paint.

Figure 121 – 124

2010
Oil Paint on Digital Print on Paper
4’ x 6’ (48” x 72”)

  • A scan from a book in which five photographs appear side by side of people of various ages, facing forwards. Each stands besides a yardstick measuring their height. At the bottom of the page the words “Chr. age”, “Ht. age”, and “Sex Chrom. Neg.” appear under each image. The eyes of the people have been painted over with black paint, and their skin has been painted over with white paint.

Intersex

2010
Oil Paint on Digital Print on Paper
6’ x 3.5’ (72” x 42”)

  • A self-portrait of Sunaura Taylor beside a piglet, a pig, and a calf, all with arthrogryposis. They stand or lie on a gray floor, with a plain beige background behind them. Yellow arrows point at each of them, labeled capital-A, lowercase-a, lowercase-c, and lowercase-b.

Animals With Arthrogryposis

2009
Oil on Canvas
6’ x 9’ (72“ x 108”)

  • A detail from the painting Animals with Arthrogryposis, in which Sunaura Taylor’s knees, hands and feet can be seen, as well as the prone body of a black calf. It is skin and bone, and one of its hooves can be seen pointing up toward the sky. Its head is out of frame.

Animals With Arthrogryposis Detail 1

2009
Oil on Canvas
6’ x 9’ (72“ x 108”)

  • A detail from the painting Animals with Arthrogryposis, in which Sunaura Taylor’s head can be seen. She has medium-length brown hair that comes down over her forehead and dark brown eyes. In the image, her gaze seems distant and she appears forlorn.

Animals With Arthrogryposis Detail 2

2009
Oil on Canvas
6’ x 9’ (72“ x 108”)

  • A detail from the painting Animals with Arthrogryposis, in which a piglet can be seen, curled up over itself. Its tail is painted on with a dash of white paint, and its fur alternates between brown and white up to its ear, which has been notched, denoting ownership. Its eye is dark black, as if all pupil.

Animals With Arthrogryposis Detail 3

2009
Oil on Canvas
6’ x 9’ (72“ x 108”)

  • An installation shot of a museum wall, on which Sunaura Taylor’s artworks “Figure 121-124”, “No Arms!”, and “Intersex” can all be seen. In the top left of the photograph, the words “Medusa’s Mirror: Fears, Spells, and Other Transfixed Positions” are on the wall.

Installation Shot, Part of Medusa’s Mirror: Fears, Spells, & Other Transfixed Positions

2011
Curated by Amanda Cachia
Proarts Gallery, Oakland, CA

Back to Portfolio