Onania’s inhabitants are rapidly infected and disfigured, as by
a medieval plague, presented in Manski’s glossily ubiquitous,
cloying pink. These objects form a series entitled Aetiology
Unknown. Skulls, leather, teeth and terrifyingly dated surgical
instruments bulge and surge against each other in these
sculptures. Even the machine itself is disfigured by a grotesque
seepage, spewing combinations of human fat sourced from
liposuction clinics, and synthetic materials, largely vinyl acetate.
Natural and manufactured elements are brought into fearfully
close proximity and become interchangeable, blurring the
secure borders of human recognition and refusing reassurance.

ONANIA: An Introduction
BREESE LITTLE, February 2012