Effigy Series
Although our earliest human records are estimated at around 5000 BC, historians admit to huge gaps and unanswered questions in current historical models. We know that there was a time before history, a pre-history where humans existed for tens of thousands of years. Although radiocarbon dating is effective for placing organic materials into a historical timeline, it’s useless for stone objects and buildings, the objects and structures that truly withstand time. What if historians have it all wrong and human history is much deeper and more complicated than current theories?
In an age and election cycle where many voters yearn for a mythical period of history where life was somehow better, Cara Ober’s new body of paintings, prints, drawings, and porcelain urns explore the possibilities of a time before time. Viewed through a collection of objects and images, Ober posits historical artifacts, both real and fake, against contemporary ones, creating a skewed and immediate timeline of visual symbol and layers. Within this context, history is no longer linear but cyclical, and the past and present collapse to influence one another.