We can't escape. Take a look at Where Food Comes From . Here is a mixed media sculpture that is deceptively childlike in its execution, using toy animals mounted on a simple green box. But look at the piece again and you can find a gruesome truth underneath the seeming whimsy. The cow showing skeleton instead of hide wears around her neck not a garland of daisies but a necklace of human dentures.
Flowers dotting the surface turn into machine flywheels.
Hummingbirds look like ray guns. Behind this pastoral scene is a harsh reality. However, the wall hangings of Gus Ballard disappoint. Created from discarded objects he found during his walks through his Germantown neighborhood, the wood canvases are supposed to be an indictment against our wasteful society. I agree with the idea, but frankly, the repetition in each piece simply bores.