photography by Jess Hall
In The Transmogrification of the Commodification of the Inherent Value of the
Ubiquitous, Los Angeles based performance artist Monica Seggos enacts a
dramatic and moving birth of self that explores femininity, potential,
Ubiquitous, Los Angeles based performance artist Monica Seggos enacts a
dramatic and moving birth of self that explores femininity, potential,
and the act of self creation.
Poignantly, the performance coincided with Seggos’ 60th birthday.
The performance, the artist’s London debut, begins with Seggos encased in an
egg, her voice giving the only indication of her presence. Her cries are that
of someoneyearning to be free of the limitations that are holding her back.
Indeed, by obscuringherself from the audience, Seggos allows her internal narrative
to become that of the viewer.
Seggos bares her inner self with naked vulnerability, and in doing so
becomes a channel through which the viewers can experience
becomes a channel through which the viewers can experience
and process their own pains and hopes.
Through her torment, Seggos begins to give indications of her physicality:
a middle finger protrudes from the shell, a egg is tossed and cracks on the floor.
Then the artist slowly begins to emerge,
her exhausted body finally liberated from its former limitations.
She takes a moment to respite on the floor, her specially made gown
draped over her like the whites of a primordial egg.
draped over her like the whites of a primordial egg.
As she begins to walk, Seggos’gestures are slow and measured, a
s if from someone learning to walk for the first time.
In the powerful closing gesture, Seggos herself gives birth to an egg,
displaying with reverence before the audience.
displaying with reverence before the audience.
Accompanying the performance were 4 works of relief sculpture.
Rendered from simple materials, the works explore ideas of
creativity, motherhood, femininity, and the artist’s relationship with her son,
who also curated the exhibition.
In Incubation, Seggos gives form to the creative process,
where ideas are birthed from one another and then themselves spur further ideas,
like an endless web.
In Shedding, the artist recalls taxidermy hunting trophies,
drawing parallels between a deer’s
hormonal shedding of antlers with a woman’s shedding of her eggs.
hormonal shedding of antlers with a woman’s shedding of her eggs.
Taken as a whole,
The Transmogrification of the Commodification of the Inherent
Value of the Ubiquitous masterfully narrates
Value of the Ubiquitous masterfully narrates
the agony and ecstasy of becoming yourself.
Through the piece Seggos becomes a beacon for the viewer,
assuring them through her words, gestures, and artworks
that transformation is indeed possible.
Installation images (photography by Jess Hall)
Bonsai wire, steel wire, gardening wire, cardboard, packing tape, foam
175 x 70 x 108 cm
Satin, found object, adhesive, wooden hatching egg, antique glass globe
17 dia x 27 cm
Bonsai wire, cardboard, packing tape, steel wire, satin fabric,
wooden hatching egg, acrylic paint, sterling silver found object, wool, adhesive
Bonsai wire, cardboard, steel wire, found object, satin, fishing line, steel dress pins,
packing tape, wooden hatching eggs, adhesive
63 x 52 x 22 cm
Incubation, 2025
Fishing wire, bonsai wire, cardboard, steel wire, magicians eggs,
63 x 52 x 22 cm
Fishing wire, bonsai wire, cardboard, steel wire, magicians eggs,
packing tape foam, acrylic paint
28 x 46 x 15 cm
Uterus 1, 2020
Linen, PET plastic, welded steel, wooden hatching eggs, steel wire
32 x 20 x 9 cm
28 x 46 x 15 cm
Linen, PET plastic, welded steel, wooden hatching eggs, steel wire
32 x 20 x 9 cm
Performance stills (videographer Aysha Leach)
