Dust La Rock “Joking Victim” Featuring Collaborations With Angela Boatwright, JK5, And More At HVW8
Making his Los Angeles gallery debut, Dust La Rock will open “Joking Victim” at HVW8 on April 14th. “Joking Victim” deals with the themes of pleasure and pain, free will versus destiny, fetishism, the occult and mortality with works on paper, photographs, and a short film in which La Rock teamed with a team of innovative artists to help bring his vision to life, including photographers Angela Boatwright and Kareem Black and tattoo artist JK5.
As the “victim” or protagonist in a number of pieces, La Rock utilizes his body as both medium and canvas. In his works on paper, including the central piece “Joking Victim,” the artist uses his own bodily fluids combined with ink and paper for a textured, provocative effect. In the photography series “Skin Canvas,” La Rock becomes the subject as Boatwright documents him receiving a tattoo from JK5. The images capture needle against flesh, as art is turned visceral. Using paper towels to soak up the blood and ink, La Rock displays the resulting patterns in a hanging collage. In the short film “The Ritual,” shot by Black, artist becomes subject once again as La Rock submits himself to a dominatrix.
