Mike Kelley (1954-2012)

Executed in 2002, Island Potpourri Christmas Lingam and Yoni and Sprinkle Lingam Paperweight both form part of Mike Kelley’s celebrated ‘Lingam and Yoni’ series. In this series, Kelley used soil, dirt and found objects from islands around the Detroit River to construct variations of the Lingam and Yoni: the Hindu iconography for the male and female genitalia. Kelley recasts these ancient physical symbols of sexual union as bright, kitschy objects, and further challenges traditional ritual associations by employing the decorative household mundanity of sprinkles and potpourri. Kelley’s first eight sculptures in the series were followed by these two works, whose bright colour schemes evoke a specific connection to a Land O’ Lakes butter package. The seated figure of the Land O’ Lakes branding is echoed both works, particularly in the festive tree which takes the place of the traditional Lingam in Island Potpourri Christmas Lingam and Yoni. Combining castaway objects with these perversely consumerist overtones to conjure a mystic sexual fantasy, Kelley exposes the deep psychological grip of capitalist imagery on American lives. He enacts a deconstruction of ceremony, monument and tradition, shot through with the illusive warp of his own memory and personal history. Transforming banal items into charged totems, Kelley imbues his work with sharp wit and an unnerving new divinity.