“For me, nothing quite measures up to the experience of walking down a damp, dark, slightly putrid French Quarter street and suddenly being enveloped by the scent of sweet olive or night blooming jasmine.  The rapid juxtaposition titillates the senses and I am not satisfied until I locate the source.  Similarly, discovering an impossibly flashy, drag queen of a blossom staged against the overripe, constant brink-of-decay that is downtown New Orleans -- with its old wooden houses, un-drained streets, litter and fishy garbage cans -- has the same effect.  It is my hope that Forbidden Fruit: Flower Pictures for the Bathroom recalls these moments.” 

Thomasine Bartlett is a local New Orleans artist.  She holds an MFA in drawing and painting and an interdisciplinary PhD in critical theory, American history and art history from Tulane University where she currently teaches art history and runs the internship program for the Newcomb Art Department.  A long time contributing member of the New Orleans arts community, Thomasine is a founding member of the Staple Goods collective, was represented for many years by Wendy Morehead gallery on Julia Street, and has shown her work in multiple other venues in the New Orleans area.