Doug Bosch
Tickled Pink
In Tickled Pink, Doug Bosch’s forms come alive with the motion of the model train. Although the locomotive disappears into the table, the rippling movement of the ethereal beings above allows the viewer to track the train’s direction. This movement reveals the symbiotic relationship between the landscape and train, for without the train the landscape lies completely static and without the landscape the train disappears. The train’s movement draws the viewer’s eyes back and forth between the quivering cloud of discs and the strikingly pink lichen (a popular material in model railroading) on the platform below. While the discs may remind the viewer of natural beings such as lily pads or jellyfish, this landscape is from another world.
Doug Bosch’s sculptures are at once familiar and foreign. Often made from natural materials such as pollen, the works look as if they could be newly discovered species. The artist studies his materials in their native habitats to learn their inherent properties, tendencies, and forms. He then brings them into his studio where he uses his observations to make something entirely new. The silicone disc is a signature object in Bosch’s work which he has combined with various materials such as ash and chalk. Accumulation is also an important element in Bosch’s work. He watches for that moment when the condition of accumulation becomes visually and physically significant, metaphorically resonant and aesthetically substantive.
Image: Doug Bosch, Tickled Pink, (detail), 2007, Lent by the Artist