The Rejuvenile

Peterpandemonium, Kidults, Twixters, Adultescents; call us what you will, we all share one simple mind-set: We don't want to grow up. Author Christopher Noxon coined the term Rejuvenile to describe people who cultivate tastes traditionally associated with those younger then themselves, but it should also be noted that this is not simply a Gen X phenomenon. While the ranks of the Rejuvenile are heavy with adults hanging on to juvenile pursuits into their thirties and forties, evidence of a self-conscious regression is plentiful among adults in mid-life and beyond and even among teenagers. Rejuvenile's are young and old, male and female, American, European, and Japanese.
Now that there is a name for them, rejuvenile's seem to be popping up everywhere. My older brother and his wife are proud owners of a time share at Walt Disney World in Florida and have Mickey and Minnie Mouse paraphernalia all over their home. My boyfriend has an ever-growing collection of NASCAR toy cars and Day-of-the-Dead figurines. And I can't begin to tell you how many childhood movies I bought on Amazon.com as soon as they were available on DVD: The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Last Unicorn, and Aladdin, just to name a few.
Thankfully, one needn't risk bodily harm on a hydraulic pogo stick or run around the house in nothing but their Oscar the grouch underwear and red Superman-like sheet screaming “I can fly” to reexperience the joy of childhood play. That's where toys come in. Searching for, acquiring, and getting re-acquainted with childhood toys like Legos, action figures, your favorite teddy bear, or paper dolls is for many a gateway into the rejuvenile mind-set.
As children and as adults, our response to the toy is a powerful one: at a deep instinctual level our imaginations recognize a dream made corporeal- a magical translation of idea into object. Because they are visceral and relate to long-forgotten, long-suppressed experiences, toys are exceptionally powerful vehicles of communication. Utilizing this knowledge and fusing it with my clay sculpture I use the idea of the toy to express fundamental changes that have altered the world—media convergence, globalization, mass-culture hybridity—and cultural issues that reflect war vs. peace, good vs. evil, child vs. adult, and cute vs. disturbing.
Several of the works in past exhibitions play on the idea of the stuffed animal as a form of security and comfort. Each “animal” is formed in the likeness of the traditional teddy-bearish position; two arms and two legs sticking straight out towards its owner as if to say: “Please pick me up and hug me!” This is then juxtaposed with the fact that the forms are indeed clay and therefore are even more so fragile and precious. These are not the action figures of our youth but instead the youthful manifestations of a true rejuvenile mind. I hope you enjoy this trip towards your childhood.

Debra Yarrington was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1979 and grew up in a military family. Frequent moves bound her and her two brothers closely together. The toys, figurines and later, video games, shared between her and her brothers helped create a realm of discovery and role-play, and became a constant place that she was able to carry with her, regardless of where she moved. This make-believe realm conjured up by her adolescence is what continues to inform her work to date.

In 1998 Debra received her BA degree in Studio Art and her teaching license from The University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. After taking almost two years off from school she decided to go back and get her masters degree. In December 2007 she earned her MFA in Ceramics from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now, Debra works as Registrar for the Workhouse Institute and teaches beginning and intermediate clay classes at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. Debra also recently completed teaching a semester as an adjunct professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg VA in Art Education. In her spare time, Debra continues to make work reflective of her youthful imaginary world.

In May of 2010 Debra made her curatorial debut at the Workhouse Arts Center with the highly anticipated "Urban Decay: A Carnival of Custom Vinyl and Lowbrow Art" exhibition. She brought in 13 amazing artists from around the area with the help and partnership of the Spagheti Project (an urban retail shop); showcased live tattooing and vinyl toy construction as well as live music for one the most highly attended art exhibitions at the Workhouse Arts Center. And she will be curating another exhibition for June 2011 that will be even bigger. See you there!