Jaimie Warren: The Whoas of Female Tragedy IIThe Hole - January 10th, 2013

Written and Photographed by Kyria Abrahams

"Reach inside, there's candy in there."

With this dubious invitation, I am introduced to the art of Jaimie Warren... and her toes.

"Hey, now! That's not candy!" I exclaim.

"Most people are usually horrified!" she responds, clearly a little disappointed that I didn't scream.

And I immediately want to hang out with Jaimie Warren. Devilish, giggling, and encased in an enormous paper mache monster -- Warren is trapped in the corner of her own art opening.

"I wanted to be approachable," she says, "At so many of these events, you know, they are so [hoity-toity] ... the artist isn't approachable. And what if you're a kid that likes my work?"

The installation is meant as an homage to horror movies -- but not to Slither, surprisingly. Warren hasn't seen that one yet. Covered with bits of hair and fake slime, Warren is moonlighting as a nauseating buffet table. A chocolate fountain and plate of strawberries is hidden inside her (within sanitary distance of her feet, of course).

I ask Warren if the chocolates are there as a reward to the people who have just touched her toes.

"Actually, this was originally made for my show in Miami," she explains, "They wanted me to have a snack table, and I decided to do something interesting with it."

The artist herself is clearly there to have a good time, and that vibe rubs off on the visitors. People arrive wide-eyed and leave with a smile on their face.

"These are genuinely funny," said artist Zebediah Kineally, while admiring a portrait of the artist as pizza. "It's so nice to see work that is playful and honestly digesting all of pop culture."

I don't expect we'll see a trend of playing "Pat the Bunny" with artist's toes at too many openings in the near future, but perhaps Jaimie can inspire a new generation to have a little more fun with their art.

The Whoas of Female Tragedy II January 10 – February 9, 2013 The Hole 312 Bowery

Jaimie Warren Jaimie Warren at The Hole Jaimie Warren on Vice