looking at art: Gallery Review: Tristin Lowe's Mocha Dick

As I perused the VMFA website for current and upcoming shows, I ran across an image of a large-scale white whale sculpture by Tristin Lowe, entitled Mocha Dick. I was intrigued, and since we were driving through Richmond on the way to VA Beach for the holidays, I decided to pay a visit to Mocha Dick. My husband and I hadn’t been to VMFA since its reconstruction project, so we enjoyed walking around the outside gardens prior to entering the museum.

Mocha Dick was constructed in 2009. It is a 52 foot life size model of a sperm whale. The work was made of industrial wool felt, an inflatable armature, vinyl-coated fabric, with an internal fan. It was created in collaboration with the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, and on loan from the West Collection, Philadelphia. The wall text for the piece informs viewers that Lowe stitched clusters of barnacles on the whale’s body, as well as surface zigzag stitching, giving the appearance of scarring on the body. The details given to the stitching creates a narrative, showing the harsh reality of navigating the sea.

The gallery space that contained Mocha Dick was busting at the seams with the oversized whale sculpture. Walking down the hallway toward the exhibit, the first glimpse of Mocha Dick was catching sight of a small section of his tail. Once arriving at the tail, it was clear that the intention was for visitors to walk around Mocha Dick and view from all sides. It was really difficult to keep from touching the giant whale. Obviously, this was assumed, and the museum had a sample piece of Mocha Dick’s “skin” posted on the wall for visitors to touch. There were two guards assigned to Mocha Dick, which my husband referred to as “the keepers of the whale.”

Mocha Dick appears to be a realization of the description of the giant creature from Melville’s 1851 novel, Moby Dick. The scale of the massive creature is overwhelming; standing next to it, one cannot help but feel tiny and contemplate the fragility of life. I also found myself feeling sorry for the whale, viewing him as a specimen in a museum. Perhaps the artist wants to convey to his audience the magnitude, resilience and beauty of the whale through this artistic representation, and encourage viewers to connect the work to the literature from which he based his art.

I feel that Mocha Dick is successful for many reasons. Lowe chose a subject matter that is accessible to the public because of its connection to the classic literature. The ways in which the artist manipulated the material and put so much care into the outer stitching creates a sort of empathy and emotional connection with the viewer. This piece could be utilized for educational connections between art, language arts, and science. Audiences that might particularly appreciate this work would be fabric artists, educators, and those that are interested in marine biology. It seems that Mocha Dick would excite new audiences if exhibited in science centers and aquariums.