If you remove the arms from a toy soldier designed to be in a fighting position on the ground, he will resemble someone in the midst of a glorious swan dive. Back arched, head forward, legs, well, not as taut as they could be, but there’s an effort. Exquisite.
Throw him on a large onion, put a crown on his head and a minimalist tail feather on his lower back, and he becomes a sexually dimorphous version of soldier as particular species, a creature that has morphed and adapted to its new physical self, or possibly is its accepted natural self.
The evolving, adapting and resourceful nature of “Hummingbird” and other figures is the basis of John Stoelting’s Going Places: Fish and Supermen, an exhibit dabbling in “evolutional parody.”
Loosely inspired by Sandy Squirrel from the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, (where her rodent underwater lifestyle is an accepted way of life), Stoelting created a fabulous land-fish equipped with its own scuba gear. From there, it evolved, so to speak, as a humorous consideration of expectations, normalcy and, most of all, embracing change.
Going Places: Fish and Supermen Through September 26; Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Trifecta Gallery, 702-366-7001. Opening reception September 4, 6-9 p.m.
