"Suspected Homosexual." SH was a rubber stamp I made in 1990. I would use the stamp on the outside of  correspondence I mailed. I was amazed at how the stamp (in lavender ink)  would unnerve recipients. Anyway, flash forward to 2007. I was reading about how some artists have been putting their names on fashion design. I chuckled to myself because since most of my work deals with destruction, trash, abandonment, etc., how could I develop a fashion line? Barely had the doubt crossed my mind than BINGO! To wit:

My studio is in an industrial section of Miami, and even though we are within walking distance to all of Miami's glitz, you'd be taking your own life into your hands if you did so. There are a lot of third world rag traders around here. These people buy all the cast off clothes the Salvation Army and Goodwill don't want. They in turn sift through these huge bundles and decide what they DON"T want.  What they keep gets repackaged and sent to Africa, Haiti, etc. This is why you see Darfur's starving children wearing last years GAP or Charles Taylor's Liberian rebels going into battle wearing blonde wigs and Pucci. So, I walked around the corner to one of these rag shops. As soon as the owners saw the odd artist emerge from his studio and enter their environs their antenna go up.

I entered the stifling warehouse and before me lay mounds and mounds, some to the ceiling, of old thrown away clothes.

"How much can I buy a bundle of those old clothes on the floor for?" I ask.

"For you, I make special deal," Josephine replies, "only $350.00!"

"$350.00!?" I exclaimed.

"OK for you special, special deal! $300.00!"

Right Josephine, let me think about it. And I think about it for all of 30 seconds, before making my way back to my studio. Anyway. to make a long story longer, as I was leaving my that evening, I noticed Josephine's trash bin was overflowing! Overflowing with all the clothes unfit for Darfur, Liberia, Haiti etc. Here was the thrice cast off remains of remains. America's love affair with disposability in all of it's regal glory.  What I have come up with so far is incredible. Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, leather jackets. London Fog, BCBG and a myriad of hairy slippers and Disney paraphernalia just to name a few. The pieces lean toward winter wear since most of the places receiving these clothes are close to the equator.   All of these items are being stripped of their labels and I am adding the label: Suspected Homosexual  Though the pieces were almost all originally mass produced, by applying the Suspected Homosexual label on them each one becomes a unique (precious) item.