Paul Freeman’s Dilemma

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Paul Freeman, “On the Antlers of a Dilemma” (detail), 2018

mixed-media sculpture, 71” x 51” x 59” (photo courtesy of the artist)

Changing old habits is difficult. Our coping strategies are familiar and feel safe, yet they are often barriers to new ways of being. It’s a dilemma that we face daily as individuals and collectively, as communities: We can stick with what we know – even if it’s barely working – or risk the anguish of transformation.

This predicament inspired the sculptures that Edmonton artist Paul Freeman presents in On the Antlers of a Dilemma, on view at Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, Alta., until Oct. 21. Freeman’s malformed and distorted deer are an agonizing yet unflinching metaphor for this transition. The work’s impending sense of crisis is disturbing.

To create the sculptures, Freeman purchased commercially produced taxidermy deer, cut them up and reconfigured the parts. Then he cast these new creatures in polyurethane. What was once a trophy stag posed nobly on a rock becomes twisted and deformed, at times little more than a disordered mass of body parts. The heads, some with tongues protruding, seem to cry in pain. Arched throats and exposed genitals add to their vulnerability. Antlers grow from every crevice, encasing the animal like a protective shield.

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Paul Freeman, “On the Antlers of a Dilemma,” 2018

mixed-media sculpture, installation view, each sculpture approximately 71” x 51” x 59” (photo courtesy of the artist)

Antlers are indicators of sexual prowess but also serve as weaponry. Yet, in Freeman’s show, they are rendered useless. Most sculptures are suspended from the ceiling, airborne, as if the animal was just hit by a truck on the highway. But even those on the floor are encumbered by extra antlers – their weight and unwieldy conformation would make it impossible for the animals to walk. Their defensive strategy has become a trap.

There are many layers to Freeman’s work. It can be viewed as an environmental commentary about a world where old ways of doing things no longer suffice. The antlers become metaphors for big houses, fancy cars and all the other material excesses that threaten the world as we know it. But, for Freeman, there’s also a more personal story of trauma and his realization that, no matter how painful, sometimes we need to shed old patterns to allow healing and personal growth.

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Paul Freeman, “Enuresis,” 2018

mixed-media sculpture, 27” x 63” x 47” (photo courtesy of the artist)

This work is cathartic for Freeman, and perhaps for the viewer. The antlers have become so cumbersome that no matter how beautiful or reassuring, their usefulness is at an end. The last deer in the show is on the ground, anchored by the lances of his antlers. But this is where the story actually begins. Freeman hopes to develop this work into one final show where the dilemma of change is resolved, the transformation complete. The next deer in the series will get up and cast off its antlers so healing can finally begin. ■

On the Antlers of a Dilemma is on view in Gallery@501 in Sherwood Park, Alta., from Sept. 6 to Oct. 21, 2018.