Having originated as a way for eighteenth century naval prisoners to pass time and remember the outside world, matchstick models have become a widespread hobby. Since then, these models have come to signify an individuals obsessions and fantasies; a way to allow the builder to obtain the unobtainable. Interested in cryptozoology’s illustration of the human desire to feel there is still more to the natural world that humans are yet to explore and conquer, Suddick will blend the pseudo-scientific subculture of cryptozoology with the subculture of matchstick model making. She will look at how this obsessive craft is akin to the desires associated with the hunt for cryptids like Bigfoot, as they both allow individuals to feel like they can discover the implausible .
During her residency period at Open Studio, Suddick will develop a complete matchstick model making kit based on an actual Bigfoot Trap which has stood in the Siskiyou National Forest in Jackson County, Oregon since 1974. Now a non-functional, little-known tourist attraction, this non-monument is a symbol for wanting to find proof of new possibilities in everyday life. The prospect of a humanoid mammal that has remained living in secrecy so close to civilization clearly peaks people’s interests, in part because they allow us to romantically imagine a world where a creature so related to man can live surreptitiously in a close relationship to nature.
www.jenniesuddick.com
