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Mike Kelley Nature and Culture , 1987 Chest of drawers and wood wall panel with decoupage, knobs, mirror, and plywood, 83¼ × 27⅞ × 16¾ in. overall Collection of Liz and Eric Lefkofsky The bottom half of this work is decoupaged with found images of eyes and lips. These subtly eroticized body parts and the fetishistic nature of the fabrication process—reminiscent of a teenager pasting cutout magazine bodies on a wall—suggests lust and desire. In stark contrast, the wall-mounted panel depicts scenes of social and political conflict: a representation, perhaps, of the repression of natural instincts in the name of “civilization.” Viewed as a whole, the work functions as a manifestation of selfhood: a depiction of the jarring and contrasting sides at play in every character. —HJ
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