The Alpha Vaporizer

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This piece is a combination of futuristic design and imaginative ingenuity to form a raygun. The Alpha Vaporizer contains an allure with the lights, high polished nature of clear red resin handle, and sleek uniform objects. My work generally contains a tongue-n-cheek quality to help ease or raise tension between the viewer and the gadget. The objects contained within this piece came from out of date technologies, discarded tools/ machinery/ household accessories, which have been reconfigured into a science fiction based toy of the imagination.

            There are two main ideas that I am applying in this piece, the first being childhood imaginative processes of thinking and playing. In young children it is instinctual to take part in forms of pretend play. In boys especially, involving acts such as picking up sticks from the yard, imagining that they are weapons, and playing cops and robbers, good vs. evil, etc. This provides a way for children to gain some perspective about the world, which they have very little control over. Imagined toys of this nature allow for them to innocently explore these roles and their place among them. This assemblage is an interpretation of what a stick or other inanimate objects represent in the mind of child during pretend play.

            This leads into my next idea, which is utilizing this childlike imagination to fuel my curiosity about science fact/fiction, super hero characters/characteristics, and plausible adventures. Such scenarios are invigorating and fun, allowing for me to explore the innocent nature that is apart of this childhood imagination. Creating gizmos and gadgets that I can apply in my own fictional fantasies is highly important to me as an artist working in these materials. I do not see these devices as tools to harm individuals, even though that could be a plausible intention, but rather as a way to gain some control in a world that seems upside down and with out answers. This toy is meant to be an aid of discovery and adventure, not a weapon of mass destruction.

Exhibited at Texas A&M International University

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