Unexpected Objects
Scott Mayberry

This collection is an exploration of the ways objects—particularly dolls, which are intimate, and flying saucers, which excite our imagination—reflect our social rules, assumptions and subconscious ideas.

The cracked, stacked, crumbling doll heads represent the current experience of environmental and institutional breakdown. The trust in the infallibility of world and religious leaders has been decimated, as the planet beneath our feet is changing at a pace that that’s outrunning our human strategies of category, hierarchy and the handing off of responsibility. The old labels no longer apply.

As our human-centric structures decay, we’re witnessing the rise of the interplay between the natural world and technology. Gene therapy, lab-grown limbs, plastic-eating bacteria and other technological explorations are blurring the lines between unadulterated nature, and human design. Humans no longer simply manage (or mis- manage) our environment; we’re co-creating with it. The doll-head birds play with this fusion of between human-made and natural, instinctive and structured, manufactured and free.

And as we watch our structures shift faster than we can shape the outcomes, there’s a steady undercurrent of also watching the skies. Are we alone here? Will we be rescued? Are we vulnerable to interference not just from within, but from beyond? And while we’re thinking about that, let’s just go on as though nothing is happening. The UFO paintings in this collection take a whimsical look at the unexpected arrival of and interaction with flying saucers in the most mundane of places. When you least expect it, expect it.

As a whole, Unexpected Objects is a continuation of Scott Mayberry’s ongoing investigation of everyday objects as they reflect and represent our feelings about ourselves, our roles, and our future. We’re crumbling, we’re re-inventing, and we might even be participating in a greater galactic conversation… while all along we’re just getting through one ordinary day at a time.

Scott Mayberry is a painter, illustrator, and assemblage sculptor whose work explores the complex relationship between humans and our environment, both natural and technological. He’s known for creating quirky images that invite a second look to discover their subtle humor.

Scott earned his BA and MA at Central Washington University and his MFA in Studio Art at University of Texas, Austin. He’s the recipient of multiple awards and has shown his work nationally.

He currently lives and works in Ellensburg WA with his family.

In addition to Scott Mayberry’s Unexpected Objects, be sure to check out Tom Saffle’s metal sculptures in the PUNCH yard and the line-up of performers who’ll be gracing the PUNCH Stage during July:

July 1: The Chironomids (2-4pm)
July 8: Randy Weeks and the Silent Treatment (2-4pm)
July 15: Black Grenade (2-4pm)
July 22: Celtic Jamboree (2-4pm)
July 29: Brett Benton (6-8pm)