Used Dicks, 2009
Baya Weaver nests, human hair, grass, coconut extracts, cotton thread
48 x 120 inches
Nature is the reference book to which Shivan turns to explore gender conflicts within himself. In natures fluidity, he finds as many questions as he does answers.
Used Dicks is based on an exploration of the nest-weaving habits of the Baya Weaver bird (Ploceous Phillipinus). Although weaving is socially viewed as a feminine act, in the case of the Baya Weaver, these roles are reversed. The male Baya Weaver weaves the cockswing shaped nest by which he attracts the female to mate.
The realm of domestic industry is entered into and claimed by the male body, raising questions of whether the notion of fixed social identity is desirable or even tenable.