"The Original Fig" began in fall 2022, inspired by an Adriatic fig tree in my neighbor Linda Rossi’s yard in NE Portland. This project explores the themes of discomfort, play, and the subversion of conventional narratives surrounding the fig, which is historically linked to shame in various mythologies.

I created plaster multiples of the original fig, transforming them into hanging sculptures that border abstraction and eroticism, drawing inspiration from Eva Hesse’s accumulation sculptures. In December 2022, I installed "The Original Fig" at the PSU School of Art & Design, where a classroom was transformed into a sensory wonderland with fig leaves blanketing the floor, filling the air with their sweet aroma. Over 100 participants engaged in this immersive experience, reflecting on the fig's ability to reclaim space through scent.

Inspired by Candice Lin's work and the playful defiance of Hélio Oiticica's "Tropicalia," I aimed to challenge shame through sensory exploration. Participants expressed their liberation with phrases like, "It looks like we're stomping on shame in the Garden of Eden." This project seeks to forge new mythologies, asking how we can reinvigorate our relationship with our bodies through play.

I am currently developing a third installment at Multnomah Art Center for December 2025 in partnership with Portland Parks & Rec, with documentation to be featured in the group show Subject: throughout Oregon in 2025 at Umpqua Valley Arts, Chehalem Cultural Center, Pendleton Center for the Arts, the Newport Visual Art Center.

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Gilian Rappaport with contributions from Linda Rossi, urks io, and Katie Gemmill

Participants: John Niekrasz, Patricia Vazquez-Gomes, Carly Thomasset, Cory Knoblauch, Gina Roberti, Ari Ettinger, Jess Siegel, Ashley Yang-Thompson, Shelbie Loomis, Harvee Bird, Jennice Rodriquez, Hazel Andersen

Photos by Harvee Bird, Gilian Rappaport; Gala Gage

Videos by Shelbie Loomis

Thanks to Taravat Telepasand, Joaquin Golez, Steve Brown, Emma Duehr, Erik Geshke, Corey Knoblach, Stanley Carpenter, Hannah Rosenfeld, Rachel Traub, Erik Greshke, Alison Heryear, Adrian Ruth Williams