This sculpture is an artifact made to tribute the Ramen Devil, a fictitious deity based on the internet icon, Filthyfrank. Made up of hundreds of layers of cardboard, the saber tooth tiger skull is suspended by a Plexiglass plinth. The 3D model of the saber tooth tiger skull was sourced from an online 3D model library, thus the historical accuracy and origin of the skull model itself is unknown. The experience of navigating the plastic covered office desk with the skull centered under the a white fluorescent light, necessitates a spiritual engagement with the quasi-archaeological object. The sculpture itself is invaluable as a historical reproduction, instead its value derives from its function as a shrine and a spiritual conduit for the Ramen Devil. The glossy topographical surface of the sculpture, invests in manufactured connotations while the matte finish alludes to a hand crafted production left in a process, only covering half the skull. The theatricality of the museological presentation demands a suspension of belief by the viewer, encouraging a fictional engagement with the quasi-archaeological object. Because the accuracy of the skull to that of the original fossil is unknown, the viewer is left in a liminal state between the historical legibility of the form as a saber tooth tiger and the oppositional fictional/produced suggestions of the sculpture’s title (The Ramen Devil) in addition to the evident manufactured indices. 

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Office desk, utility closet, cardboard, fiberglass resin, enamel, epoxy putty, matte spray paint, Plexiglass, fluorescent light fixture, plastic drop cloth

2017