ARTIST STATEMENT
ENIGMA OBSCURA
Glass and Plexiglass Art
Enigma Obscura is a body of work created on glass and plexi-glass. This artwork emerged from the Codes on Canvas installation and continues the theme of not being aware of what is occurring. The title of this body of work comes from the Enigma machine that the Nazis developed to hide secrets about the Holocaust and other activities of the Third Reich. Obscura represents the prototype of the camera that consisted of small opening and a darkened enclosure through which light appears on objects. Glass, fragile and broken speaks to Kristallnacht, the destruction of Jewish businesses, schools and homes. Glass helps to view things to see through. I created images on glass that speak to current issues of sex trafficking and the branding of sex slaves.
The plexiglass artwork addresses atrocities including the Japanese internment camps, the Rwanda and Cambodian genocides. The glass pieces are set in hand made half frames with LED lights that illuminate the images.
Disparate icons from genocides, ubiquitous barcodes and the tattoos of women who are sex trafficked suggest their commonality despite apparent differences. These phenomena are represented through their common visual themes an enigma, art that baffles, perplexes and has a hidden meaning.
Simone Alter-Muri 