Jo Cunningham's Freak Family Roadshow Travels the US
In 2025, Jo Cunningham, a self-taught artist, introduced The Freak Family Roadshow, a traveling art exhibit housed in a 'canned ham' trailer that journeys across the U.S. The installation showcases three fictional characters inspired by her family: a gorilla mother with pink hair curlers, an alien father, and a hybrid child. Drawing from her eccentric childhood in the 2000s, Cunningham's father created the comic Alien Metaphor during the UFO frenzy of the 1980s, while her mother worked as a primatologist. The exhibit also features vintage labels and a new animatronic carnival barker named Cecil. Since relocating to Bisbee, Arizona, in 2020, Cunningham has toured California, the Southwest, the Midwest, and the East Coast, exploring themes of alienation and wonder.
Key facts
- Jo Cunningham is a self-taught artist.
- The Freak Family Roadshow is a mobile art installation in a 'canned ham' trailer.
- The installation features three characters based on her family: a gorilla mother, an alien father, and a hybrid child.
- Cunningham's father published the comic Alien Metaphor during the 1980s UFO craze.
- Her mother was a primatologist.
- The installation was launched in 2025.
- Cunningham moved from New York to Arizona in 2020, settling in Bisbee.
- Materials include papier-mâché, wool from an alpaca farm in New Mexico, and encaustic wax.
- An animatronic carnival barker named Cecil was added to the outside.
- The work has toured California, the Southwest, the Midwest, and the East Coast.
- Cunningham cites a 'collective isolation' reminiscent of Edward Hopper paintings.
Entities
Artists
- Jo Cunningham
Institutions
- Southwest Contemporary
Locations
- New York
- Arizona
- Bisbee
- United States
- U.S.-Mexico border
- California
- Southwest
- Midwest
- East Coast
- New Mexico
- Chicago