This piece is based on a childhood memory of first seeing the iridescent effects of oil on a rainy street. The effect had all the mystery and exotic charm of peacock feathers. The target-like blossoms appearing out of the gray world was alluring beyond the capacity of a child's ability to express. Placed in the context of the Freudian Latency Period, the oil stains had the power of an uncanny object both to mask and unmask what was repressed and hidden in the Id. Therefore, the revelation and obfuscation of the word ‘odalisque' holds the key tension. The traditional nude figure from a Turkish harem suggests an exotic beauty at the complete disposal of the viewer. Such a fantasy drawn from the dripping of oil is easily tied to American car culture.
       In the sculpture, a Mercedes passenger seat reclines. It is an open invitation. The female nude who might one day occupy the seat is still hidden to the child. Instead, she is present in the sensuous back beads placed over the seat. They are treated in such a way as to mirror the slick iridescence of the motor oil. The design pattern references the work of Op artist Bridget Riley and serves to invoke the feminine form. The graffiti on the base is a slightly elegiac haiku. It necessarily views the elusive figure both as a prodigy of future adventure and a ghost of past memory. It reads:

Spread-eagle over

Wet pavement, motor oil makes

A boy's odalisque