A History of the Human Smile, 2022

aluminium, wire, verdigris and patina solution

103 x 120 cm

Our teeth are more complex than we give them credit for. They hold our history and genetics, yet we all feel a sense of disgust and vulnerability surrounding how we feel about our teeth. My artwork comments on this shame through the exaggerated, grimy, and gritty painting of mouths. The teeth I painted exist on a spectrum, from adolescence through to old age, representing the journey of our teeth. I have painted each mouth on a sheet of metal that I hand rusted, representing the natural and inevitable decay and the degradation in attitude surrounding our teeth over our lifetime.