Dari Cassar is an artist that takes great influence from the world around her. She is highly selective of the models that she finds. From the obscure and irregular body types to the sexualized picturesque conventional forms of beauty, she clashes them together to create highly contrasted creatures that bring in perspectives of a not too far-off dystopian world. Dari is interested in the beauty of life, the way the body wears with age, the way rust forms on metal, and the natural progression of the wear and tear on bodies and items alike. Her works of art are detail oriented, obscure, challenging and intriguing. Her works invite the viewer to not only take a step closer to examine the sculpts at a glance, but also create conversations about the cultural biases of American culture and influences of the media on how they have shaped the way society is supposed to perceive the human form. They evoke emotional responses that are unique to each person that experiences the sculpts in real time. Dari finds that her work can separate people into different categories of thought. By examining reactions of the viewers, she can see who is open minded to the experience and who is more closed minded or repulsed by the creatures she has created. The sculptures are realistically made, then abstractly adjusted by adding mixed media assemblage, to create works of art that are unique in the art world today.
Pregnant Old Man and The Interpretation of Venus is the first in a sculpture series fabricated by Dari Cassar that stands over 6 feet tall. It is made of silicone, donated human hair, foam and an assemblage of recycled materials including an old rusted machine part and aged, weathered pair of mannequin legs.
Dari made a form that was abnormally beautiful and a bit controversial. It is a commentary on the hyper-sexualized culture of Americans society and their contrasting fear of nudity. In Roman mythology Venus was a goddess that represented love, sex, fertility and beauty. Dari's Venus, a pregnant old man, stands tall, looking down on to the viewer in a submissive pose. One hand is covering the mannequin’s fake genitals and one hand is held out to the viewer open and ready to receive compliments and criticism. Beauty is like art, very subjective. In the eyes of Dari, this sculpture is beautiful. It is raw, unhinged, and sewn together to create the contrasted manipulation American society tries to depict as beauty today.
