Seventh Chamber, 2002, digital C-print, 40" x 48"

German Pitre works in virtually all media including painting, photography, film, and sculpture. His work includes found objects in the form of "stuffed animals" that have been used as toys. These animals are contorted, painted, and rearranged until they have lost their innocence and take on deeper meanings that examine our relationship to childhood and our own feelings about that innocence.

The creatures are used as a vehicle to engage the viewer in a dialogue, and the image creates a physiological longing with a sense of inaccessibility. The titles are important in staging a social and political dynamic. The photographs represent a step beyond the paintings in that they create a space between the viewer and the object that insulates the viewer from the inherent discomfort with the imagery. Mr. Pitre's work forces us to deal with what are often uncomfortable realities in society and our relationship to them.