In this modern society, people are focusing on the material, not the spiritual… It's always this part of the human condition that is explored in porn and body modification that society is always trying to hide by things like plastic surgery and artificiality. It's part of being human. But society's always trying to bury humanity.
-Dr. Lakra
The Lapis Press invited Dr. Lakra to Los Angeles as an artist in residence in the summer of 2010. The idea for this edition came from an old book filled with objects that he saw in a natural history collection in Oaxaca. Hence, Doktor Lakra's Lexikon is an edition that presents a unique world within the work: a world merging the present, the recent past, and forgotten lands, exquisitely illustrated on each unique object inhabiting the handmade box.
Doktor Lakra's Lexikon is comprised of 4 objects: a carved skull cap, a scrimshaw sperm whale tooth, a tattooed cup, and a tattooed baby doll arm. The skull and scrimshaw pieces are facsimiles of original works created for this edition, while the cup and baby doll arm were each hand-tattooed by Dr. Lakra and vary in design. The four objects are housed in a leather handmade custom box, inspired by an antique leather-bound colonial era bible found in a flea market.
The edition of 10 includes a colophon page hand numbered in Roman numerals. Each object is signed by the artist.