Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015

Juicework, installation at Human Resources LA (Feb 6-10, 2015): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedals, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs. Photo credit Alexis Chanes.

Michael Parker's Juicework is a five-day installation, inviting visitors to juice. Visitors entering the gallery are welcomed to wash their hands using a stoneware sink (pictured here, in the background). The basin is supported by three redwood legs joined with a steel structure. The water (activated by a foot pedal) pours out from the melon-light. The lights are porcelain hand pressed from a mold of the ugliest watermelon the artist could find in the summer of 2014. Visitors are offered a hand-towel and invited into the main gallery to juice, using objects made by the artist. These objects are then rinsed in basins (also made by Michael Parker); used towels are strung across a gallery wall. Click through for a video of the improvised concert (produced by small medium large) using some of the exhibition's objects as musical instruments.

This project would not have been possible without the collaborative support of Wesley Hicks. A special thanks to Katherine Cox and Troy Rounseville for extensive logistics. The artist also thanks: Shane, Jeanette, Jim, Katie, Maccabee, Kelsey, Ihab, Christine, Sam, Garrett, Brian, Nick, Ariel, Erin, Julian, James, Lauren, Olga, Alyse, Steve, Betty, Robin at Mudd Creek and the CSU Long Beach Sculpture, Wood and Ceramics departments. This project was brought to Human Resources by HRLA programming committee member Luke Fischbeck.

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit Alexis Chanes
Visitors look throughout the more than 1,000 tools, objects and citrus that appeal to them.

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit Michael Parker
They make juice using a juicer.

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit Michael Parker
In background are soiled towel line and rind bowl

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit Nathan Parker
A triple sink with clean water at top for final rinse

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit (HD Video Still) Michael Parker
A triple sink with primary rinse at bottom, with secondary rinse in the middle and final clean rinse at top.

Michael Parker, Juicework, HRLA 2015 (detail)

Juicework, 2015 (detail): stoneware, porcelain, tree slabs, salvaged wood, redwood, cotton, vinyl, steel, plumbing, foot pedal, electronics, wire, cable, bulbs.
photo credit (HD Video Still) Michael Parker
Sinks drain through plumbing out the front door and onto the sidewalk