Before my departure on an Alaskan Cruise last spring I had prepared myself for what David Foster Wallace describes as “ that special mix of servility and condescension that is marketed under configurations of the verb ‘to pamper’ ”. I was totally unprepared for the assortment of strange and wonderful objects-some 'authentic', some pure kitsch, and most occupying the sparkly decorator gray area in between-that graced every nook and cranny of the public areas. Oh the joy of post-colonial myth making, humming confidently beneath pitches for teeth whitening and stage shows featuring actual ventriloquists! Like a spy (or perhaps a tourist) I collected images, and began a series of drawings imagining the secret lives of the decorations...