DEVANG ARVIND SHAH

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A Bed of Roses

67

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*Finalist, Times Square Competition

An outdoor grand heated bed, floating above a bed of flowers, in winter

With no obvious indication, comforting radiant heat spreads throughout the bed. Kept at 75 degrees, the warmth invites touch and a longer stay. A field of winter flowers below gives softness, fragrance, and color.

A layered metaphor, the sculpture references:
The grand leisure of Persian and Asian family-sized beds
Times Square's historically edgy relationship to sex
America’s racially motivated history of criminalizing gatherings, loitering, and public rest, including the artist's own with stop and frisk

A Bed of Roses references physical processes: death, life, leisure, sex, and sleep. Ultimately, on a deeper level, it relates to slowing down, fixing historical inequalities, and rebirth.