Homesick Blues #4, 2026
MATERIALS
SIMPSONS MERCHANDISE
WAX, RESIN & FRAMED TEXT
DIMENSIONS
VARIABLE (OBJECTS)
15 x 22 IN. (FRAME)
Text:
In the summer of 2026, Greg and I were helping Harry empty an office in my hometown of Kenosha, WI. The company had already moved two towns north, to Racine. What remained was considered excess: desks, chairs, cables, folders, pens, objects no one had claimed or brought to their new offices. We were told that anything we wanted for ourselves could be taken. Most cubicles had been emptied... one had not. It was a corner cubicle. Before seeing it, I caught a whiff of it in the air. It smelled like old cheeseburgers. The desk was covered with McDonald's wrappers and about a quarter of a leftover cheeseburger. A drinking bird leaned repeatedly into an almost empty coffee cup that had been left unwashed. Beneath the desk were several Simpsons-themed merchandise: a nonfunctioning watch depicting Homer Simpson grilling burgers on a kebab stick (| laughed); two plastic-plush figures of Homer and Bart; a plushie of Santa's Little Helper; and a wallet printed with the cast of Springfield containing $100. I asked Harry why no one had cleared this desk, and he told me that the occupant of that office had left work unexpectedly, and had not returned. Later that same afternoon, it came on the news that he was arrested by Kenosha PD about two blocks from his home for waving a firearm in his car while on his way back to the office. In his confession, he stated that he was planning on shooting up the office after lunch was over, but had forgotten his gun. Harry said the other employees avoided the cubicle afterward.
I took the watch, the figures, the dog, the wallet, the money, the coffee cup, and the bird to my studio on Green Bay Rd.
I did not take the cheeseburger.
I do not know which part of this account belongs to Harry, which part belongs to office rumor, and which part became mine when I recounted the story to write this text. Out of respect, the names in this account have been changed, and the name of the former employee who originally owned the items below has been omitted. The objects are presented as they were when I heard this story, except where time & handling have changed them. Their relation to the event cannot be authenticated beyond testimony.