Alicia Piller: Sculpting Generational Strength

Article: Roxanne De Guzman

Photography: Angela Godoy

Rebellion has never looked so beautiful.

Following a long tradition of using art to spark a societal and cultural revolution, Band of Vices is an art space founded in 2015 by art curator Terrell Tilford. Full of intricate pieces that provocatively embrace kindness and inclusion, this art space amplifies historically underrepresented voices of every community that was once considered “different” from the prototyped version of society. With open arms, Band of Vices welcomes people of every race, gender, sexuality, disability, body type, and cultural background to join this lively and unique community. Located in Mid-City, Los Angeles, this contemporary art base is the city’s bustling hub for fearless, thought-provoking, and unapologetic artists and art appreciators to marvel at today’s most magnificent paintings, drawings, mixed media pieces, photography, and sculptures. 

The space’s exhibit C11H17NO3 (also known as Mescaline) opened on Saturday, September 18 to showcase its collection of pieces that are inspired by Mescaline. These dreamy, imaginative pieces create an entirely new world full of colorful vitality and whimsical hallucinatory trips to a contorted reality. Mixed media artist Alicia Piller uses her creative platform to share tales of historical traumas told through the lens of a microscope. 

Piller’s piece in Band of Vices, “Psychopathic roots. Contorted realities, sprouting lotuses (9ft X 21 ft X 10 ft)” combines ideas from two of her previous pieces, “Maternal DNA Strain 5” and “Across the wasteland, a twisted melody. Matter and spirit” in order to create a piece that shows maternal DNA overcoming the historical wasteland of politics and societal norms. She hopes to use her voice to strengthen future generations of previously underrepresented people. 

This installation creates a sense of movement to represent a phoenix rising from the ashes of historical discrimination. Drawing inspiration from nature, history, scientific processes, politics, and materiality, Piller weaves together a jaw-dropping piece that incorporates these elements. 

“The form pushing out from the center represents my maternal DNA rising from the depths, from the dirt and mud of an impossible history, wading through chaotic politics, the racism, and the rich history of American hegemony,” writes Piller in an interview with NOW Magazine LA.

In creating pieces that reference important parts of history, Piller also weaves in her own personal histories into her work by referencing some of her previous works. For instance, she draws inspiration from “Maternal DNA” in order to capture the idea of “the probability of existence, the beauty and horrors of generations existing through a rough history.” Piller’s use of a mixed medium of different objects forwards the goal of her work: to speak to strengthening generations, to fortify a new sense of self, and to thrive despite a surrounding toxic world. 

“My use of mixed media materials stems from all my life experiences; melting all of my art practices together into one,” continues. “The use of vinyl pulling from my past working with fashion creating sculptural jewelry pieces; the vinyl in the sculptural works become the skin and membrane that pieces each work together with.”

Piller uses another familiar object to create her masterpiece: US news headlines spanning 200 years that deal with the horrors of racism, sexism, and classism. She uses this symbolic material to craft the “roots” in her piece to show that these important issues give rise to further societal problems that will affect countless generations to come. Piller uses her art to show how news headlines and societal issues such as race, class, and capitalism directly affect her as a person of color and as a human being. 

Piller also draws from her personal past in finding materials to incorporate into her sculptures. For instance, she uses latex balloons to reference her previous experiences of working as a clown with her mother. She gives meaning to these balloons by allowing them to represent the juxtaposition between the celebratory element of party decorations and the sad nostalgia of clinging onto a happy memory that has long passed. These references to experiences and memories with her own mother also play on the theme of the strength of maternal DNA rising from the ashes. She uses materials that are rich in history and combine in interesting ways that can create an entirely new energy.

She also channels her interest in environmental issues, as she utilizes nature and “systematic creation'' as inspiration for each form.” This is evident in the lotus-shaped structure of her piece. In addition, she even plays with a range of form, such as creating phallic-like structures to create the feeling of something inherent and biological. She hopes to use her art to draw connections between humanity and the planet. 

“The show theme deals with feeling as if you’re  not sure if you’re awake or dreaming,” says Piller. “To me, this art installation really speaks to the chaotic existence of living in the US, living in systems that oppress citizens systematically in various ways and how that in itself can feel insane, just trying to live and thrive while wading through a sea of history that is still present in every way around us.”

Piller has come a long way as an artist and has overcome countless obstacles in her own sea of history. While she has been an artist for as long as she could remember, naturally drawn to arts and crafts as a kid, a turning point in her journey that confirmed her career as an artist was a bike accident in Brooklyn that had caused her to almost lose her right arm. In turn, the accident became the catalyst that inspired her to go to graduate school and pursue the passion that she was put on this planet to do.

Through her education and experience with sculpture, she created many works that were inspired by the Black female body. As a part of an underrepresented community in the world of art, she was the only person of color in the entire program and she was affected by the biased critiques of an audience that did not quite understand her art. One of her most memorable notes of feedback was that her “work is too pretty for the genre.”

With a stunning combination of her personal history, her generational history, the nation’s history, and the future of the human race in mind, Piller created her piece for Band of Vice’s Mescaline exhibit. She fearlessly tackles the systemic issues with the social, political, and environmental landscape of today’s world by providing strength and inspiration to the communities most unfairly affected by them. In doing so, Piller proves that there is immense beauty that lies in the strength it takes to stand up for yourself and fight against the powers that hold the members of your community back.