Bon Mott at The People's Museum for Prince
Dan Pratt, Kirk Thoren
Bon Mott

Bon Mott

St Paul, MN
The night _/\_ danced with Prince led to a doctorate in lightning
Mixed media installation: Lace bodysuit, magnets, chains, mixed metals

In Diamonds and Pearls, Prince sings about reaching for the stars and pulling one down to reveal the truth of love — echoing the way these metals fall to Earth as meteorites and cosmic dust. On the Love Symbol album, Sexy M.F. asks 'Why all the cosmic talk?' — a question this installation takes not as metaphor but as instruction: working with materials that literally come from stars. Bon Mott's installation suspends a lace bodysuit design by Cath Fletcher (Fashion Designer, Maus Cat Berlin) and Bon Mott's magnets, chains, and mixed metals. At the centre of the work is the bodysuit Bon wore while dancing with Prince in Sydney in 2012, alongside jewellery-based sculptures that describe the science of cosmic rays originating from dying stars, turning fabric and metal into diagrams of charged weather. The installation incorporates repurposed jewellery given to Bon by Maori collaborator Kori Miles, and materials sourced from The Arc Minnesota's Value Village thrift stores — part of a disability-rights ecosystem. Special thanks to Tom Kanthak for the Manidoo feathered piece — pheasant feathers, mirror beads and deer antler.

Dr Bon Mott _/\_ is a nonbinary, neurodivergent artist, curator, and educator based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia) and Minneapolis (Turtle Island, USA). Identifying as lightning, _/\_ uses this identity to move beyond human-centred perspectives and challenge colonial frameworks. Mott's practice combines site-specific installation, performance, and material experimentation. Holding a PhD in Sculpture activated by Performance Art from the University of Melbourne, _/\_ has produced more than 150 exhibitions internationally.

Bon Mott — The night _/\_ danced with Prince led to a doctorate in lightning
Mixed media installation: Lace bodysuit, magnets, chains, mixed metals

At the Museum — Roberts Gallery

Installation view — Bon Mott, The night _/\_ danced with Prince led to a doctorate in lightning Installation view — Bon Mott, The night _/\_ danced with Prince led to a doctorate in lightning
Event photo — Bon Mott at The People's Museum for Prince Event photo — Bon Mott at The People's Museum for Prince Event photo — Bon Mott at The People's Museum for Prince
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