Plush Mugwamp-O-Lounger

About the work

"I'm inspired by the writing of William S. Burroughs and one of his characters used in Naked Lunch is Mugwamp (a film noir protagonist's guide of sorts, towards obtaining drugs and sex). I've turned him into a "comfortable" and domesticated piece of furniture. On the back (of the sculpture), there is a diagram of my own written novel, in which Mugwamp also takes part." - Aaron Sheppard

About the artist

Aaron Sheppard lives and works in Joshua Tree, California. His work speaks eloquently about constructing and projecting identity, religiosity, sexuality, and counterfactual historicism. His filter is the culture's love of fame and/or pornography, mixed with the romance and perversion of classical allegorical portraiture. His lavish materiality finds a narrative function for neon light tubes, thick heavy paint, and extreme mannerism in his mostly nude figures, forcing people to deal with the inconvenient object and not just the idea of it.