Good, Bad, Ugly at Art Basel Statements 2021
acrylic resin, pvc, ceramics 180x100x35cm 2021

Three figures are facing the audience from a dimly lit booth. The sculptures are of life-sized men's suits standing up on polished leather shoes. Made of clear plastic, the outfits reveal their wearers - yet instead of human bodies the suits are propped up by swarms of snakes. Porcelain serpents are bundled together in the chests, crawling through the legs and arms, emerging from the collars, and yet more creatures are approaching the trio. The scene is accentuated by sets of eyes which are scattered around the booth. Cut out of reflective material, their glow stalks the audience as they move through the installation.
The eerie atmosphere of "Good, Bad, Ugly" is perhaps most similar to Karlson's 2013 work "Drama is in Your Head II", where the artist filled a gallery space with cement sculptures of child-height ghosts. Fear, first encountered in childhood, develops into various paranoias that are carried through adulthood. These works look at how such feelings are processed, understood and interpreted. In "Good, Bad, Ugly", Karlson tracks these emotions to their biblical origins in the garden of Eden where a serpent appears as an ultimate guilt bearer. She also points out, however, the symbolic meaning that snakes carry as markers of quality, purity and health. The ethical conflict formed inside the three bodies becomes the centre of this Western-themed drama.

Price per figure (plus 9 snakes) / Two figures on the right side available