Jack O’Brien

The sculptures of Jack O’Brien, assembled by employing various found objects and repurposed materials, emphasize the ambiguity of the materials themselves. The works create confrontation with fragmented humanity. His practice explores material culture through the lens of marginalized aesthetics to highlight the political histories of capitalism, and the production of desire.

Visible through layers of assemblage and melted plastic, the cherry motif is chosen by the artist as a symbol of sensuality and the erotic. The cherry maintains a constant presence within mainstream culture. Its symbolic etymology is traceable from the ancient Greeks as the elixir of prosperity to recent advertising campaigns for The United Colours of Benetton and Burberry. The appropriation of this associatevely dense and flirtatious image as the background can be seen as a nod to the fact that Jack O'Brien's work is ostensibly about desire.