Fuzzy Logic

…Laura Splan’s Prozac, Thorazine, Zoloft (2000) is a trio of plump, huggable pill-shaped pillows. Made for an exhibit at the first Ladyfest in Olympia, Washington, it could be argued that Prozac, Thorazine, Zoloft arrived on the cusp of the contemporary DIY movement. Ten years later, Splan’s cheerful Pop sculpture still plays on our desire for comfort, but as mood-altering drugs have become increasingly common, we now read them as iconic objects ¬– like modern-day Campbell’s soup can – whose cultural significance reaches beyond their literal use. Splan has said that the process of latch-hooking itself is so repetitive as to be mind-numbing, like a drug. But the process of needlework can also be introspective…