appealing

The Maynard
Spring 2020

Spring 2020 Issue Cover Art

by Varian Loo

Rhymes With Orange, 2016
Oil, Acrylic, and Door Hinge on panel
8 x 8 inches (20.32 x 20.32 cm)

In my work I combine conflict, absurdity, and humor in an attempt to astonish and confuse the viewer. I want the audience to consider ideas of structure and placement, their cultural background and social construct. As an immigrant of Chinese parents, growing up in Canada, I understand hyphenation.

“Rhymes with Orange” is piece that has great opportunity to create comedic play between words and imagery. The Maynard always has an orange on its cover, and typically those are still life paintings. I decided not to submit a still life painting to The Maynard, but rather a word-puzzle in the form of a one-liner. I was testing the editors, curious to see if they would get the play on the phrase and image.

In Rap, which many consider a form of poetry, and also in Hip Hop, rhyming efficiently within subject matter is called “bars.” In an interview with the rapper Eminem, he mentioned that he could rhyme the word “orange” with “door hinge.” That interview stayed in my mind and became the idea to screw a door hinge to an 8 x 8 primed wood panel, and on the hinge paint an orange.