Pours from a Cracked Vessel
D Stevens
July 19, 2025
This work depicts, in slightly jovial ways, how we are misled to trust in a disingenuous system, believing what we consume is not intended to harm us- when in fact, the Necro-State wants us dead. Extraction, the destruction of nature to advance technology & the weaponization of food/water, is more blatant with each passing day. Victims are consistently blamed for their own suffering, exacerbated by a cruel, colonial agenda.
Framed mixed-media collage + four papier-mache sculptures make up this series. Papier mache is a fabulous way to use materials that would otherwise become trash. The collages are assembled from reworked sketches & scraps cut from old work, layered with paint, inks & graphite. A zero-waste ethos is applied to practice whenever possible.
The artist, D. Stevens, admires the way artist Niki de Saint Phalle was able to process complex emotion & pain by producing papier-mache exuberant work. She said, “There is nothing more shocking than joy.” While Stevens doesn’t entirely agree with the statement, they do aspire to find & create joy as an act of defiance.
Artist Bio: D. Stevens is an artist based in Reno, Nevada, from San Francisco, CA. Stevens works primarily in mixed-media collage, due to diverse materials & texture relevant to a background in hair, special fx & prop styling. Past work has appeared in film & on stage, for Peaches Christ Productions of: Beetlejuice, Death Becomes Her, She Devil, as well as gallery shows throughout California / Northern Nevada. She works as a hairdresser in San Francisco & Reno.
