Artwork details
- Medium : Textile, Steel Without Stand
- Dimensions : Length: 33in, Height: 32in, Depth: 4in
About this artwork
Our Pet Sea Monster is a take on environmental affairs crossed with a popular cultural moment from the 80's. The sea-monster refers to the trash island floating in the Pacific Ocean. Naming it as "our pet" tried to change the narrative we tend to use by stating there is a problem or someone else's problem, instead of collectively owning the issue and calling it ours. The complete title, "Our Pet Sea Monster" also references a doll that was marketed…
towards boys in the 80's called, My Pet Monster. These are the playful ways I strive to get viewers to reevaluate how they think about certain matters such as waste and overabundance.
Alex Buchanan
United States
Credentials
- Featured in gallery curations
- Works on commission
Alex Buchanan (Born in Boston, Massachusetts) studied sculpture, printmaking and photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. He also served four years active duty and began his journeys at sea in the U.S. Coast Guard. Buchanan focuses on the cultural relevance in his maritime influences and conveys them intriguingly by layering inclusive translations of coastal humanities in semiotic form, and tackles environmental subjects through humor and poignant metaphors. Orchestrating subtle textures and curvature in sculptural form, Buchanan suspends the materials he uses in their current state and focuses on the stories held within the fiber patinas to say, “this shall not go to waste.” Every segment of these industrial textiles is unique and treated as a scarce commodity, like a thumbprint from the sea. He exhibits work regularly, working heavily by commission, and was a 2020 SMFA at Tufts Traveling Fellow recipient. Buchanan lives in New Bedford, MA.
Alex Buchanan
Our Pet Sea Monster
$5,000