Moving away from the whimsy and fantasy filled nature of my upcycling project, I decided to take inspiration not from my heart but my head this time around. I decided to draw upon my heritage as a Greek first generation immigrant. I grew up in both America and Greece, exposing me to generations past and traditional stories. I grew up with detailed, vivid tales about; the Ottoman occupation and Mussolini and their abhorrent treatment of my people. My heritage, my people’s heritage is painful and bloody with no end in sight as the world continues to pressure my people to bend to the Ottoman demands of taking more of OUR lands.
Leaning on my heritage, as well as my associates in History, I have decided upon a historical project for the everyday revolutionary. With continued ceasefire request being denied, people incinerating themselves in the streets of D.C for ceasefire and the near complete eradication of the NATION of PALESTINE (An apartheid state) I felt the need for a guillotine. Leaning on my sadness for my people and the CIVILIANS of Palestine, I wanted to create something that I feel like many want to use right now against those anti-ceasefire, fear mongering politicians.

I am currently figuring out scale, yet I am going to create a “mini” guillotine, probably around 7 to 8 feet tall. I found a tutorial on how to make one for a Halloween decoration, as it seems our government doesn’t want us to actually make this thing and I can’t find plans anywhere, with that tutorial I will be sketching and redesigning to fit my aesthetic and vision as well as functionality as I want to use a real blade. I plan to source wood from Craigslist, whatever I can’t find I will acquire from a lumber store or a hardware store like Lowe’s. The blade I am going to try to make myself, but I have a friend on standby in case I can’t. I plan to round the top and to stain it rather dark before decking it out in pink glitter and adding little details to make it girly pop.
When I explored the Whimsigoth Aesthetic I came across the man who created the term and the website of the institute he worked for. I decided to explore it for an aesthetic, I wanted to contrast the macabre vibe of the device, yet I also wanted to  make it fun. Who wouldn’t want such a femme queen, cunty death? Therefore, leaning on my love for Drag Race, I tried to find an aesthetic similar enough to the glitz and glamour of a Drag Queen.
“Mcbling” is set in the period from approx. 2000 to 2008, a hard shift away from the minimalist futurism of the Y2K Aesthetic era towards maximalist remixes of mainly 1970s and early 1980s trends & motifs. Aspirational luxury in all forms, tattoo motifs, oversized designer glasses, celebutantes, designer ripped jeans, pink hummers, bedazzled electronics, fashion phones, McMansions, nihilistic & hedonistic overtones, overly-flourishy vector art, grunge effects applied to ‘gothic’ fonts, reality tv shows, Paris Hilton, tuscan-inspired-everything in home furnishings, luxury trips around the world, excessive overbuilding of homes (global housing bubble), designer dogs, dubai, bling, spinning rims, trucker hats, von dutch, ed hardy, spray tans, tracksuits, Juicy Couture, american flag inspired clothing post-9/11.

Expect either a pink, glittery guillotine with fun decor or my descent into madness,
Citation for photos and description

“McBling (2000s).” CARI, cari.institute/aesthetics/mcbling. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.