robin frohardt

I have been told that I have a knack for taking a simple premise to an elaborate realization, which might be a nice way to say that I can take a joke way too far. But I like to think it means that I have found my authentic obsession and connected it to my deep love of craft. I use puppets, film, and installations to tell tragi-comic stories about the banalities and absurdities of modern life. I use simple materials, often trash, to create meticulous worlds. Much of my work is an attempt to process my upbringing in the suburban sprawl of Colorado Springs, a town known for mega-churches and endless shopping centers. I fled the day I turned eighteen but in recent years, as ecological uses like plastic pollution and climate change have become impossible to ignore, I have turned the lens back on this mass-produced consumer culture I tried to escape. I am interested in co-opting the language, signage, and branding of consumerism to lampoon its indignities. I prefer to use humor to unpack the pitfalls of capitalism and it can be a powerful tool for social criticism especially with issues that feel too overwhelming to confront directly. My latest work The Plastic Bag Store is an immersive performance in a fake grocery store that asks how future generations might misinterpret the plastic waste we are leaving behind. Part intricate installation, part puppet film, this project draws on my obsession with trash, my intuition for storytelling, and my concern for the environment.

Available Work

Instagram: @robinfrohardt
For purchasing, high-resolution images or other details, please contact robinfro@gmail.com
To learn more, please visit www.robinfrohardt.com and theplasticbagstore.com