Jarvis Rockwell, Maya, 2001

Commissioned by MASS MoCA for Game Show

“Inspiration for Maya came from Hindu temples, which are frequently covered with sculptures of the gods that make up the Hindu pantheon — Rockwell replaces those gods with the dolls. Rockwell believes that the Western passion for action figures is in part due to a repressed polytheism underlying Western culture. For Rockwell, the figures stand in for the abundance of desires found in contemporary culture.”