Tony Lewis on his installation of a large text piece, visible from MOCA Cleveland's monumental stair. Made with nails, stretched rubber bands, and graphite, this work is part of a series based on excerpts from Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. First encountered by the artist in his mother’s bathroom, this book has gone on to play an influential role in his practice.
In isolating and magnifying these “instructions,” Lewis shifts their meaning and reveals the ways in which they assume, exclude, and exert power, while also speaking to personal fears and desires.