Rob Connolly

Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

Artist statement

My work examines the invisible systems of permission that shape what we allow ourselves to express, what we learn to disguise, and what parts of ourselves we quiet in order to belong. My current work originated from my childhood, growing up closeted in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, where my father taught me to fly fish. I was captivated less by fishing than by the flies themselves and the men who tie them—the meticulous craft of transforming feathers, marabou, chenille, metallic thread, teased hair and glitter into tiny, gorgeous objects. Years later, I realized I had been looking at a system of permission. Fly tying gives men a sanctioned context for engaging in intricate handwork, ornament, softness and flamboyant color, if only on the smallest of scales. DOLLS FOR MOUNTAIN MEN. Identical materials and gestures that could signify something entirely different in drag, fashion, or domestic craft become unremarkably masculine when used to create a fishing lure. Nothing about the materials or the act of making changes; only the context and the permission surrounding them do. I reconstruct historical fly patterns at human scale through crochet, weaving, knitting, beadwork and other forms of handwork, mounting them on polished metal hooks. Enlarged beyond usefulness, they become equally soft and enticing, sharp and dangerous. Increasingly, the fly is becoming a point of departure rather than a destination. The work is moving toward dress, hair, adornment and the...

Artwork