Derek Charleton

Derek Charleton

Damaged House

2021

Steel

32"x16"x35"

The Damaged House concept arose from trying to self reflect on childhood experiences with my family, understanding that I grew up in sort of this broken middle class American house hold. I never grew up too close with either my mother or father, especially after my parent's divorce, toxicity within my family, and I never lived a good family dynamic as I had seen with almost all of my friends. Feeding off that, I decided to consider diving into the concept of representing the destruction, the damage, and disgust of living in a broken American household riddled with toxicity, hatred, and abuse (outside of what my own fa. I wanted to start at the root and base of every family in America, or rather what every good family started off with, which would be the house.

 I started at the house, demonizing it and creating a living force from an inanimate object, and turning it from a comforting object that should seem safe and welcoming into something that was now a disgusting and disturbing creature. It seemingly turned into a balloon, with assorted tentacles and chains hanging from beneath the house from where it originally attached to the ground. The next step would be the representation of the family, where I tried to represent three different figures (number based on my own household): the father, mother, and the child. Each one of the figures are demonize as well representing the lack of innocence and the evil that resides in each one of the family members. Originally each of the figures would be holding and hanging onto the house, almost like an effort to stay attached to a house that has nothing left for it. However, only one of the figures remains holding onto the house, as if there is still something left to hold onto. The other two figures trudge behind, while the house in front of them drifts away like I lost balloon. Drifting and trying to flee away from those who created the mess for the house, and those who are no longer welcomed for it.