After the 2016 presidential election Heather Layton and I began on parallel bodies of work we later exhibited together. The Coping Mechanisms we propose and realize are instruments that can be employed in overcoming disruptions to the moral and social order – imagined umbrellas and safety-nets fashioned for a turbulent political climate.

These sometimes absurd implements of strategy – born from equally absurd exigency – are not all new and nor is the need to have them – they are sometimes proleptic and sometimes obsolescent. Some appear worn and old and some in the early stages of development – a testament to the unfortunate fact that they have been needed before and they will be needed again.