Virginia Scotchie
Seven Deadly Sins
May 6 - 26, 2012
Thomas Hunter Projects Gallery
695 Park Ave, New York

Living in the Bible Belt in the South and being raised Catholic by parents from Ohio; I have reinterpreted the religious concept of the Seven Deadly Sins in my work. The installation consists of seven shopping carts that were found on the side of the street in Columbia, SC.

Shopping Carts first came into existence in the 1930's by the shopping magnate from Oklahoma, Sylvan Goldman. In the New York Times section on "Who Made That?" it was written:

"One night in 1936, Goldman had an epiphany.” As he worked late in his office, his attention was drawn to two ordinary folding chairs," wrote Terry P. Wilson in his book "The Cart That Changed the World". What if, Goldman wondered if one folding chair was placed on top of another? What if a basket was placed on top of each seat? What if it had wheels? The modern shopping cart was born." (from "Who Made That?", Dec. 18 2011 issue of the New York Times)

I wonder if Goldman imagined his carts being used by an ever-growing population of homeless people….

The abandoned carts I have collected from street corners are obviously carts used on the "streets" not in the stores. The carts used represent huge American businesses such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, The Dollar Store, and Publix.

Each cart contains ceramic and concrete objects.

 In "Punch" the cart is loaded with 47 punching bags slip cast from porcelain clay. Some of carts contain cast animals symbolically representing my version of  “deadly sins”. The animals also serve as a metaphor for some of our human behavior i.e., The cart with a white sheep is a metaphor of how we go along day by day without questioning, justifying or even wanting to know the true reality of the new status quo in the United States. In one of the carts there is a dog representing "man’s best friend" of which we put millions to sleep each year in our animal shelters. Another cart is full of yellow and red chicks, which can be seen as a representation of our inhuman treatment of the animals we raise for food. The pig is a metaphor for our glutinous food consumption in the USA. The animals represent the disengagement and detachment we have from our own reality. 

Visitors will need to get a "guest pass" from the main entrance (next to the enormous black cube) at Hunter College on the corner of 68th St. and Lexington Ave. You may then use any entrance to reach the Thomas Hunter Project Space, located in the basement of the Thomas Hunter Building.
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/vis itorscenter/68th-street-campus-map

Visitation by appointment is also available.

Please call or email with any questions:
margaretpcoleman@gmail.com
917-232-9205