The works presented are investigations of contemporary unicorns as uncanny symbols of the American dream, which in its glistening desirability, simply does not exist. This idea was formulated from researching unicorn ancestry, beginning from their appearance in Medieval tapestries. These works aim to present a branch of growing unicorn lineage that is largely under-represented and under-recognized by critics because it is connected to the American middle class.
Inspired by Medieval unicorn tapestries and their symbolism, as well as historical writings of unicorns, unicorns are recreated in these works to reference American pop culture and question if concepts of the past still exist. Ideas of the unicorn, captivity, and the American dream are constantly changing which therefore requires a mobility between mediums, though the works remain connected to weaving history through ancestry and concept.
Elements of humor, sadness, and violence are embedded into these works as honest representations of unicorns as relating to personal trauma and experiences. Ideas of ‘the hunt’ presented in Medieval tapestries are translated to contemporary notions of hunting for a dream and the inherent violence that that dream includes. The constant production of unicorns as mass-produced children’s play toys further proves the uncanny nature of unicorns and their hidden influence on American society.
While unicorns are mostly recognizable in these works by shape, other works refer to unicorns and surrounding ideas through text as an effort to push ‘unicorn’ into the realm of being a deeply influential, non-pictorial cultural icon and way of thinking.
