HIS/HERS

Naming is among the most violent means of allocating property into domains of control. It operates at all scales, from that of a building site, as in a real estate property “title,” to the scale of a domestic accessory, as in objects labeled with the gender-specific pronouns “his” and “hers.” Whether printed on coffee mugs, embroidered upon clothing, or simply used to identify certain household zones such as bathrooms, dressing rooms, and closets, “his” and “hers” are euphemisms for the reclamation of personal territory surrendered in marriage.

His/Hers, a set of embroidered terry-cloth towels, was commissioned for the exhibition Songs of Retribution, curated by Nancy Spero for Richard Anderson Gallery in 1993. It was subsequently presented at the 1997 Gramercy Art Fair, held at the Gramercy Park Hotel, in New York City, and exhibited as part of Bathroom, a show curated by Wayne Koestenbaum, at Thomas Healy Gallery in 1998.

Set 1
She neglects His
He inspects Hers

Set 2
She wipes His off
He wipes Hers off

Set 3
He withdraws His
She fondles Hers

Set 4
She consumes His freely
He assumes Hers is his

Set 5
She is puzzled by His silence
He takes Hers as a sign