Christine Rabenold

The series TV: 333 N 5th St. references the important people we cherish and the significant impact of their contributions, as well as the memories we hold and carry with us. Viewers are invited to take a small memento in exchange for honoring that person by signing the service call book located on the pedestal.

The Interstices of Politics, Policies, and the Border Series was created in response to ongoing political discussions about immigration policy and border security. The series explores how interconnected policies—such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the Secure Fence Act, and the Executive Office of the President's border policies—have far-reaching implications beyond their original intent.

For example, NAFTA unintentionally undermined the economic stability of corn production in Mexico, the birthplace of corn. The act of “dumping” corn on the floor metaphorically represents the influx of cheap American corn (from industrial and corporate farms) into Mexico. This flood of American corn overwhelmed the Mexican market, harming smaller, independently owned farms, exacerbating poverty, and ultimately prompting undocumented migration to the US as people sought better economic opportunities.

In the US, the rise of industrial farming, coupled with the influx of cheap labor from undocumented migrants, has created a similar dynamic. The availability of low-wage labor has further eroded manufacturing jobs for the working class, as companies in both agriculture and manufacturing increasingly rely on cheap, often undocumented workers to cut costs. This has further exacerbated the loss of jobs, undermining opportunities for local, skilled workers. This cycle—where industrial farming displaces small-scale agriculture in Mexico and manufacturing jobs in the US—contributes to the growing economic instability on both sides of the border.

Most of the artifacts in the series are either brown or white, symbolizing the weaponization of racial assumptions about immigration. In contrast, green items highlight the financial benefits derived from the trade agreement. The baskets contain fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico but sold in the US, each with stickers reflecting the “fruits” of NAFTA for American consumers.

The vinyl wall map and lidded fences reference the Secure Fence Act and its construction of 650 miles of pedestrian fence (represented by red vinyl) and 299 miles of vehicle barriers (represented by yellow vinyl).

The series also explores the differing approaches of political parties: one exhibits a lack of urgency in addressing the negative consequences of their policies, while the other demonstrates a heightened sense of urgency in enforcing them. It examines how fear has been weaponized to divide and dissuade. Ultimately, it asks: Who benefits?

The following projects were part of a three-person art exhibition in Houston, Texas, for NCECA 2013.

Stonemason’s Tribute and 333 North Fifth St. were created by casting the curb of my parents' house, originally made by my great-grandfather. He was a stonemason who built our family home and many retaining walls in my hometown.

Liminal Figurines explores the act of capturing the in-between space of the original figurine and its abstraction through casting and reproducing the negative space of the original objects.

Taken: Location and Memory invites viewers to consider an object they have removed from its original location without permission and the memory associated with it. Viewers were encouraged to write down their responses and pin them to the gallery wall, thereby becoming part of the exhibition. The exhibition initially featured cast rocks made of Faience/Egyptian Paste (a self-glazing clay). The original rocks were collected from various travels in the United States' Western Region, and, similarly, the cast rocks in the exhibition were taken by viewers without permission.

This series entitled, Interconnected Policies and the Politics of Corn, was created in response to recent political conversations concerning immigration policy.  The series explores how the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) trade agreement unwittingly destroyed the economic stability of corn production in Mexico, the birthplace of corn.  The corn on the wall is arranged along the US-Mexico border. The action of “dumping” corn on the floor below alludes to the dumping of American cheap corn surplus (by industrial corporate farms) into Mexico, thereby flooding the Mexican market, drowning the independent farmer, and causing poverty and undocumented movement to the US. The items in the baskets refer to fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico but sold in the US, each with stickers denoting the “fruits” of NAFTA for American consumers. The colors of most of the artifacts are either white or brown, signifying racial assumptions with regard to immigration, while the green items relate to American financial benefits as a result of the trade agreement.

Anglewood Farm, Paris Illinois

The Anglewood Farm was named by the Englum family, which has owned the farm for seven generations.  The family constructed the “Big ‘E’ barn in 1926, and is now the last standing barn on the farm.  The farm’s main cash crops were (and still are) corn and soybeans; currently the property is leased to other farmers.  The land surrounding the barn includes an old orchard of pear and apple trees, a fading corn cradle, and overgrown terrain of former vegetable gardens. Recently Mary Englum has entertained thoughts of having the barn torn down due to its deteriorating condition and the fact that it has become obsolete.

Throughout the decades the farm has seen many phases of farm technology and production.  The barn houses some of the past remnants such as the antiquated tractor, the final harvest of hay, and the abandoned blue clay floor animal stalls. It contains tools and instruments that aided in the daily routine of operating a farm.  The artifacts that remain offer a glimpse of the barn’s history. 

The use of porcelain in the exhibit was employed due to the domestic and commemorative qualities that are connected historically to the material.  It became a vehicle to visually map the succession of agricultural history.  In interviews with Mary Englum, she recalled fondly the scent of regional clay.  She told of how the clay was carted from miles away and utilized to line the floors of the barn. This element was integrated by using an unfired molded bale of hay to provide a connection between the material of clay and the life cycle of survival for the Anglewood Farm. 

The collaborative exhibition of the Anglewood Farm is an intermediary of navigating the connection of personal and collective memory associated with the ritual of farm life.  It becomes a means of expressing honor and admiration for self-sufficiency and the charitable contributions it provides for numerous people.

The Pennsylvania Mountains Revisited Series focuses on visually mapping my hometown of Lehighton, Pennsylvania. I am drawn to the mountainous terrain and rolling hills of the area.

Through research on topographical maps, the series uses the casting process to create miniature scale replicas of the mountains surrounding my town in Northeastern Pennsylvania. These slip-cast mountains are then transformed into lidded vessels, highlighting their potential functionality while reflecting the region’s historical connection to mining.

The series began in 2009 and continues to evolve, incorporating additional mountains and a variety of glazed surfaces.

The Sentimental Objects Reproduced Series explores molding and slip-casting items from 32 individuals' sentimental objects. Through flyers at local venues, an advertisement in the Chicago Reader, emails, and word of mouth, I interviewed participants about the significance of their sentimental objects. In exchange, each participant received a porcelain copy of their item.

 Additionally, recordings of the associated memories were played from speakers positioned in the center of two tables.

The series explores items borrowed without permission. I collected the objects at random and replicated them through molding and slip casting with porcelain in order to commemorate the “playful” action.

The series explores slip casting with porcelain to recreate various objects from my family. It investigates how domestic objects function in different roles and settings, especially within personal and familial contexts.

"Objects Cast From Grandparents I’ve Never Met" addresses the notion of memories and stories associated with personal objects from family members. The series includes an assortment of items from my grandmother and grandfather, whom I never met but know through their antiques, letters, pictures, and stories.

The objects that belonged to my grandfather included a pipe, a curling iron, a house from a train set, and various animal figurines. Objects from my grandmother include a pair of candlesticks, small punch cups, an ashtray, a shoehorn, a set of roosters, and a pitcher. My grandfather was a hairdresser in a small coal mining town in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where my family and I lived in the same house built by my great-grandfather.

The installation features replicas of these objects, not the originals.

The installation explored notions of camp, kitsch, and banality in reference to the objects and materials chosen for the site. The candy lamb was created by casting 600 pounds of strawberry “lollipop” candy from a rubber/plaster mold made by creating a clay “lamb” prototype.

In the series Leaves: Humboldt Park, Chicago, IL, I am slip-casting existing natural elements. The ephemeral leaves are transformed into permanent porcelain objects, merging the transient nature of the original leaves with the enduring qualities of porcelain. As viewers observe the imprints of the leaves, they begin to form personal connections and memories associated with the porcelain copies.

Upon viewing, the audience is invited to take a porcelain copy but is asked to leave behind a memory related to the original leaf.

Commercial Cast Knockout takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the idealized female form by using commercial molds. Through the act of "knocking out" a cast of the hyper-stylized female image, the work connects the commemorative, economic, and social values embedded in porcelain casting slip. In doing so, the viewer is confronted with the gaze of both the mermaid and the early 20th-century socialite.

FOR YOU explores the tchotchke and wedding decorations and the moment when the decorations take over the symbolism of the act.

Random Studies of Banality is a series of artworks that captures the quiet absurdity of everyday objects. Through photographs of small items, toys, and random things meticulously arranged on shelves, the series explores the concept of banality in the most ordinary things. The objects are placed on shelves of vibrant green astroturf, evoking a sense of artificiality, while slip-cast small red boats are interspersed throughout the display. These boats, both playful and poignant, serve as metaphors for the movement and stillness within the mundane, inviting viewers to reflect on the seemingly insignificant objects that fill our lives. The arrangement of such objects, in all their simplicity, becomes a meditation on the tension between the ordinary and the absurd, the static and the fleeting moment.

An arbitrary study of slipcast porcelain objects (some combined with felt) that echoes a disjointed and speculative narrative.

A series that playfully explores a meditative process using wool roving and the technique of needle felting.

What does it mean to create a visual map of a memory or location? How do past projects relate to the borders formed by objects and their connection to time, much like lines on a map? What happens when memories evolve over time? How do memories and materials intersect within this conjoined space?

Clay.Felt.Abstraction is a series of small ceramic works with felt bases that playfully highlight the absurdity of abstraction through humor. The needle-felt bases not only provide contrast and protection but also teasingly conceal the process of creation.

Using the coordinates of two specific locations, this series explores the complex nature of space through the collected and cast objects. It examines what happens over time at these set points, particularly in relation to the remaking of products from past projects collected at these sites. The arrangement of objects on tables reflects the interplay between past and present recollections.

A photographic series that explores travels throughout Italy, intertwined with themes of longing, forgiveness, and the act of forgetting someone lost.

Curb consists of three ceramic curbs placed in a yard surrounded by an interactive meadow of utility flags. Half of the utility flags are plastic and the others are handmade paper pennants with native grass seeds imbedded. One can interact by sharing a memory to preserve and/or make a wish to let go. The paper flags will eventually disintegrate, leaving grass behind to grow while the plastic markers will remain. A collaboration with Kate Pszotka.

Larchwood Lane, North Aurora, Illinois, 60542

The C, A, L, & Sometimes M Series focuses on gathering and recasting everyday objects. These objects are used to create molds and are then cast in colored porcelain clay, recording and altering their original forms. Similar to drawing lines on a topographic map, the transformed items reflect their dimensionality in the final display.

Everyday items in the series include:

Soap with the brand name "Source"

Driftwood collected from a creek in the Pacific Northwest during a previous research trip

A small branch from a birch tree in Southern Illinois

A specific bottle of wine from a friend, commemorating a birthday celebration

A bottle of gin from a small-batch production by Benedictine monks in Tuscany, Italy

A bottle of perfume from a friend

A pendant lightbulb that provided support during a personal life change

A porcelain rabbit from my grandfather, whom I never met

The Ceramic Styrofoam Mountain Cut: C, A, L, but no M series playfully explores the challenge of unifying and reconciling separate works. It examines the outcome when the process of making molds for different projects interferes, resulting in a three-dimensional collage. Can thoughts and memories combine to form a new hybrid? The series highlights the act of transforming disposable materials into a permanent state, leaving the arrangement open to interpretation and reflection.

Liminal Figurines_Version 2024 explores the act of trying to capture the in-between space of the original figurine and its abstraction through casting and reproducing the negative space of the original objects.