South of Eden

About This Work

"South of Eden" is a true story told to me by a friend of mine, a fellow cartoonist who also performs a clown / poetry routine as "Mort the Dead Author." The story follows Mort as they travel through New Orleans' French Quarter in severe gastrointestinal distress. Eventually, they are forced to relieve themselves in a stranger's garden, and to use their treasured sketchbook as toilet paper. When Mort recounted this story to me during a visit, I immediately said, "See? Don't ever let anyone tell you that your art is worthless!" This work centers paper in multiple ways. It's drawn on paper, of course, but it also asks the viewer to reflect on the way paper's value changes depending on how, when, and where we use it.