THE RECORD KEEPERS. 2016 - 2021

The Record Keepers are part of an ongoing series begun in 2016. They have been shown in two iterations: the first, pinned directly to the wall with gold nails, was presented at PSA Frieze, Los Angeles, by Suzanne Egeran; the second, hung from the tips of branches of the cosmic tree, appeared in Shamanism, curated by James Putnam at Mimmo Scognamiglio Arte Contemporanea (2021).

They function as talismanic guardians of the wisdom and knowledge of the universe, inspired by Native American Winter “Counts”: pictographic calendars created and used by certain Native American communities as mnemonic devices for remembering the sequence of events that mark each year and for retelling community stories.

The Record Keepers also reference the Descent of Inanna and the myth of the Golden Fleece. Energetic, sensory doorways to the metaphysical background of the world—the invisible, the unsaid, the felt—they open onto a world of magic and mayhem, a portal to perception. Each skin is activated by the element of air.

“Some artists have a curiosity to explore aspects of the occult with the idea that objects themselves have an inherent magical, talismanic power. Bert Gilbert, who has a ritualistic and metaphysical approach to materials, has created a series of sculptures using formerly discarded animal pelts that she has painted with intricate symbolic designs hung on tree branches.” — Shamanism (2021), curated by James Putnam, Mimmo Scognamiglio Arte Contemporanea

Materials
Inherited hand‑dyed mink skins (salvaged off‑cuts from the fashion industry), acrylic, pigment powder, ink, gold, silver or copper leaf, branches, gold nails, activated by the element of air.