Alison Tharp: Adult Situations with the Paranormal

Sometimes the channels on the TV would start changing on their own. Dishes would fly off the counter and shatter in the middle of the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, figures walked around the house from room to room. My family heard voices. Our video games would play by themselves in the middle of the night. I grew up in a haunted house. It was disturbing and very stressful as a little kid but what a powerful effect it’s had on my creative life as a an adult! It made me start asking the big questions at a very early age. I wasn’t afraid to die because as a ghost, you can still play Nintendo and watch TV so what’s the big deal? And yet most people wouldn’t want to move into a home if they knew it was haunted. Most wouldn’t. But I know some who would.

Ghosts like to manifest themselves in art and in our lives all the time. They play dress up, they take the form of our dirty thoughts, they look like little devils and little deviled eggs. They sometimes stretch around corners like marshmallow ectoplasm and steal your socks. You didn’t exactly hate it, did you? They live in rooms we don’t go into often. They get blamed for the messes we make and desires we wish we didn’t have. They like bath time and hate sleeping, in my experience, anyway.  They might be lonely. You and your partner might want the company, too. Ghosts are perverse just like people. A haunted house might be what you need to put the spark back in your relationship or just keep it burning bright. What happens in those bedrooms or kitchens or living room floors will probably change your life in very unforgettable ways. Keep the TV on. They like that. Cause of death doesn’t matter, a kinky ghost is a fine addition in any adult situation. Find an experienced realtor who deals in haunted homes exclusively. I have one I like and would happily recommend.

The new work in this show consists of mixed media monotypes. Some of the layers are lithographs, transfer paper along with drawings in ink and graphite. Chine-collé, a technique for placing tissue paper into a monotype, was used often in this series.