Zombies, identified is an ongoing exploration of the human body in an in-between, or contradictory state, employing various art media.

The zombie represents in-betweenness, in ways that are both uncomfortable and also beautiful. While they are often mired in camp and cliché, zombie narratives open up conversations about the most vulnerable and grotesque aspects of being human. The framework this work sets up for “zombie” places it between several countervailing pairs: alive and dead, person and thing, human and animal, individual and group, the pronouns “he/she” and “it.” By delving into the murky middle of these pairings it becomes possible to explore how zombies are often identified, varying from recognizable humans, to walking corpses, to a cartoonishly exaggerated forms of decomposing flesh that ooze into their surroundings.

In response to historical and pop-cultural renderings of zombies, this artwork seeks an entirely new visual framework for bodies that are somehow grotesque or in a threshold-state. One focus is the skin of the zombie body, which displays an unstable state of peeling and decay, often revealing the body’s interior.

One manifestation of Zombies, identified takes the form of a slideshow lecture which has been performed at galleries, academic institutions, and other sites in California, New York, and Florida. A major portion of the lecture compares and contrasts the word zombie with the phrase “feverish, homeless, cannibal” which comes from the film Zombieland (2009). An essay on this subject will be included in the forthcoming book: Zombies in the Academy. Further writing on this subject is documented in a thesis paper Zombies, identified, which can be found in the California College of Arts library.