The Miami Art Blog by Heike Dempster

I found one piñata in a garage a long time ago and I thought it was very interesting. I just grabbed it. I always grab stuff that I find and then I store it for years. Then finally I started working on it. I had these bags and I put them over the face because I wanted to get rid of the face of the piñata. I was trying to see how it would look if you don’t see the expression. That’s how I started. I left it there. I just wanted to get rid of the expression. I attached the bag as if it was a final piece. Then I broke the arm and a leg to make it look funny and crazier. Then I left it there for two years. I was working on another show that I had to get ready. After I finished that show in Hollywood at The Art and Culture Center, I went back to working in the studio. I wasn’t working on any specific project. I started working with another two piñatas I found. I found them in Little Havana. I started working with them. I had it in my system. I covered the faces and stabbed them with sticks.

Now, I am not interested in stabbing with sticks anymore, but at the time I was interested in destroying objects and stabbing objects to other objects. I broke the piñatas and the couches in the series I did before. It was spontaneous and aggressive and fast. It was something that I could not control. I just started destroying the object. To me, it was a beautiful object and I felt like the hard part is to get rid of it and destroy it and make it something else and forget what it was before and just let go. Forget what it was. Maybe it was trash and nobody used it and I made use of it. I destroy it. It is all spontaneous.

No, they are filled with newspaper. The one I found in Little Havana was filled with a really old newspaper in Spanish. I took it out and it was very interesting, even more interesting than candy. It has history and it shows how old the piece is and how unique. You usually buy a piñata empty. I know that because I had a party the other day for my son, so I had to buy a piñata for the first time. I was wondering about the candy and I had to add it.

I am kind of the opposite now. My work is a lot about opposites. Actually, the title of an exhibit I had was “Outside In” instead of “Inside Out” because I started doing the opposite now. I started to assemble again instead of destroying. In a way, it looks more delicate, but there is always a touch of something sharp. It is a piece of glass or mirror or a stab stick or something like that or something sharp in another way, something a little aggressive and bold and spontaneous. Just in this case it is more delicate. I am not interested in just being aggressive anymore.

Each series takes a year to develop and finish, more or less. I worked through the couches and the piñatas and now I am working with mirrors and assemblages with jars. I am going back to the glitter and back to reflections.

It matters. It gives a lot of energy to it. It is not the same if you buy it than if you find it. It looks more natural and real when you make the composition or installation. If you buy it, it’s even harder to make an installation. I got the jars from using room service. I went to Copenhagen, Denmark and I started collecting all these little jars from the room service, with the jelly. I put them in my suitcase and brought them to Miami. I cleaned them and put the jelly in a Ziploc bag. I didn’t want to throw it away. I used the honey, I used everything, of course, it’s from Europe. So I cleaned them and took off the tags. They have their value. They are beautiful, cute and so adorable. I never usually buy anything unless I have a solo show and I need to add something. I have been accumulating jars for years. It is all part of the experience. These are all for a solo show next year. I just started working on it. I have these diamonds, not real diamonds, that I found. I took them off some old jewelry. I am still destroying objects like my old jewelry. Then I found these flowers in Lugano, Switzerland. I took them from a garden and I was so scared that someone would come and tell me I cannot take them. I did not know how people would react. The garden was so beautiful. I take advantage when I travel to pick up pieces for my work. It inspires me. I love it. I also have jars from Japan. Sometimes I leave the labels if I think they are interesting in a way and in some cases I leave them empty. Straight to the point of the jar. I am getting more to the point now without all the destroying and assembling. I do not know what’s going on with me.

I never overthink anything. I think of it all the time so I have it in my system and it can stay with me for a long time. I have been accumulating these little jars for years and years but finally now I can start working with them and do what has been in my head all this time. The ideas are something I want to do. When I am making them, it is very fast. The thought process takes more time than when I actually take them and start playing with it. It is a very personal experience, like I am a little girl making stuff. What makes me more peaceful in my mind is that, after accumulating all these objects, now I am at a point where I ask myself what makes these objects interesting. So, I am just showing the object instead of making the whole assemblage or destroying it. I am just showing the actual miniature glass and that’s it.

The titles have nothing to do with the piece. I have one called “You Won’t Here” and one called “I’m Unavailable” or “The Best.” It has nothing to do with what you see. It’s just an abstract title related to something that was happening during the time when I made it. It actually reminds me of that time. The title and the piece capture a moment.

It might sound crazy but I feel the colors. One time, I felt red so I was very obsessed with red. I still use red but three years ago I started with yellow and black together. I was obsessed with black and yellow, or yellow and black, because they look very aggressive together. They also kind of represent poison or a warning or alertness. They are attractive but at the same time they are dangerous in a way. The contrast of yellow and black is very strong. Now, that I am not into being aggressive as much I still use the yellow and I still use black but they look more beautiful. I am now trying to change the aggressiveness into something beautiful and dreamy and surreal. Making the opposite.

It was inspired mainly by the piñatas series that I did a year ago. The jewelry designer of Espiritutara came to the show and thought it was cool and she wanted to work with me on a collaboration and I loved the idea. I thought it may take my art to another level that I cannot even imagine. Who knows what‘s going to happen? I always take opportunities that sound like fun. We started working on it and it took a year and now it is ready. We have piñata pieces and these solid metal pieces with the piñata eyes. The other part of the collection is more about the textures and the colors black and yellow with a touch of red. I have the little pom poms and little sparkles here and there. I always add a touch of something that shows reflection. It will be available for Miami Art Week/ Art Basel for the first time at Primary Projects.