KENNI ZIPF
artist statement
You will respect me, you will worship me, you will look at me with honor, you will look at me with reverence. I have earned it. I deserve it. I may have once felt small, but I have long since left behind that wilted state. I am battle hungry, a scarlet fire deep in my soft belly, I will bite back. I am a gladiator. You will not tell me to hide, you will not tell me to quiet down. I fill up every room. You will not avert my gaze. I am real. I am a pillar, a cornerstone, an ancient idol, I am a mythic being. My fat body stands the test of time, you cannot help but remember me; my image will flash white hot in your eye, I am a burning star at its birth. I will blind you in my shocking vibrance, you cannot
help but notice my every stunning detail. I will be known! I sit here in my rightful place under the sun and soak up every yellow strobe, astound you with my pompous and unabashed nature. I am rid of shame. I have no need for timidness any longer, I’ve grown past it. I am an oak. Look at me all you want; why wouldn’t you? Have you ever seen such a beautiful thing? Watch the goosebumps crawl across your fragile skin as I entrance you in a sonnet; I lock your eyes to mine, I have you in my grasp. The technicolor sound surrounds you, overcomes you, and you cannot ignore me. I gnash my teeth, I rip the head off what I have conquered, spill its blood instead of my own. I will not settle. I will not waste my time with little bites, I will devour you whole and suck the salt from my taloned fingertips. I have no mortal enemy, not even in myself. I will take what I am owed, I have the space to carry it all with me. My feet shake the ground with this delicious load I carry, and you cannot touch me. I mystify you, baffle you, bewitch you. I am so loud, so large, so immense, so monumental, so fat, so naked, so obnoxious, so outrageous; I will forever be well-fed.