Amelia and The Spinning Heads

"Amelia and the Spinning Heads” continues my exploration of the feminine, the erotic and the domestic through objects that represent three adolescent preoccupations: hairdos, clothing, and cartoons, or animated film.

The exhibition revolves around the saga of pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart who is represented by her famous tousled hairstyle. Instead of yielding a glimpse of her face, a walk around the portrait reveals only more hair. Other “all around hairdo forms” represent heroines of my youth: comic book character Little Lulu, and the notorious Christine Keeler who, at the center of the Profumo scandal, was front-page news in Canada in the 1960's. These forms, which I have produced in various media since 2000, suggest the mysterious and elusive nature of individual identityEarhart’s disappearance on July 2, 1937 is the subject of my first animated film. By modeling a digital facsimile of the real Amelia "hairdo form", set amidst an animated tropical island, I recreate my vision of the crash, utilizing Amelia's mysterious fate as a plane to project visions of femininity and immortality.

From statement by Phyllis Green for exhibition “Amelia and the Spinning Heads: Objects Real and Animated” at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, 2003