On view with SCOPE ART FAIR Special Projects P11, Booth C13 , December 4th to 9th, 2012.
At times graphic and devastating, at times hauntingly soft, Debra Holt’s latest installation, “An Unborn Child Leaves a Shadow on the Soul” is a stark and moving commentary on the sanctity of life and the volatile issue of abortion. The installation engages viewers to enter and experience symbols of pre-birth, fetal death, and a child’s perspective on life.
Inspired by artist Edward Kienholz’s use of space and found objects, Holt’s installation is an amalgam of sculptures, found objects and photography, staged to reflect the artist’s reverence of the innocence of childhood and horror and sorrow over the needless death of the fetus.
There is a definitive sense of loss and regret throughout the installation. The repeated theme of collection-of dolls, of furniture, of stuffed animals, of objects-seems in a sense an attempt to collect lost souls, and perhaps to honor the forgotten, the broken and the discarded. In fact, many dolls are broken in some way, with the indignities they have suffered etched in their haunting, expressive faces. Even in the antique furniture we find a sense of longing for the past-for a simpler time, or for innocence lost.
This is a child’s world; scattered playthings litter the floor, a lifelike newborn rests in a crib, a little girl sits coloring at a desk, and messages are scrawled in a childlike hand across the walls. A whimsical poem, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Do you know how Special you are?” is written above the newborn’s crib, echoing the sound installation, which plays the same tune.
In stark juxtaposition to the quietude and reverent feel of the installation is the depiction of bloody parts of aborted fetuses. It seems this depiction is meant to jar the senses and create a sense of horror, and show the cause of the echoing sadness, the emptiness, and the brokenness. Nearby dolls gaze at the graphic scene. Questions hang in the air with the frank earnestness inherent to children: what and why?
The whole exhibit begs for reflection-on the creation of life, on the sacredness of human life, on the humanity of the unborn. In a photograph, a doll with a weathered, cracked face welcomes visitors with her haunting, sorrowful gaze. Perhaps she is every aborted child, perhaps she is a guardian of lost souls. On the far wall hangs a pink rose-framed mirror, the most potent reflection of all. In it, we see our own face. Beneath it, the inscription reads, “what have we done?”
Holt’s installation is available for collector or museum purchase. To schedule an exhibition of this traveling installation, please contact Abba Fine Art.
For further information about this exhibition or for a private viewing, please contact the gallery at (305) 576-4278 or via email. Please visit website at