instyler
metal, pvc, paint, fiberglass, resin, concrete, pump, tubes, lechugines, plexiglass, silicone, plasma cut sheet metal, broom bristles, silicone make up applicators
There is a Floridian conspiracy theory that says the love bug was created by local university researchers to become predator to the mosquito, but the former overpopulated and became a seasonal pest, smashed onto car bumpers going 70 on the highway. The classic Instyler was advertised through a heavy television marketing scheme in the aughts. Tv ads and bugs carry a similar aura of annoyance.
Ponce works through parallel ideas of failure related to genetic engineering and technological advancement. Taking inspiration from pre-Columbian hybrid zoomorphic ceramics, Ponce constructs an ento-cyborg by fusing a love bug with the infamous, 2-in-1 hair iron, the Instyler. instyler the exhibition is a prototype for speculative future myths.
The monuments pay tribute to the founding myths of nations, in this case, objects that we designed to make our life easier, but ultimately miss the target—only to further capitalist ends. The fluid aspect of this installation leads us to remember sexual elements, frequently key within some mythologies, evidencing the place of sex in reproduction, mechanical or organic.
Furthermore, the work addresses the idea of the replica, a simulated leaf, a pond, an insect or a hairbrush; here instyler returns to the effects produced by the artificial.
Where does the myth fall on the scale between the future and the truth?