Al Freeman

b. Canada, 1981

Al Freeman (b. Canada, 1981; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) reproduces everyday items at an exaggerated scale, rendering them in puffy, tactile materials. By presenting her polyester, cloth, and pleather works as partially deflated, she playfully imbues a beer can, a hammer, or a lava lamp with a message of subverted masculinity. Enlarged to a ridiculous size, the objects are invested with a humor that satirizes the simulated coziness of runaway consumerism. In one group of works, Freeman makes sketches of botanical illustrations and interprets them in the form of her signature large-scale stuffed wall sculptures. This work is her rendition of the Devil's Fig, also known as Mexican Poppy. Freeman received a BFA in 2005 from Concordia University in Montréal, and her MFA in 2010 from Yale University.