1. Defects, 2020 - Video - 5’2” x 120lbs - Defects was recorded during a record breaking series of fires along the west coast causing prolonged hazardous air conditions of upwards of 450 ppm. The largest of these fires was started by a pyrotechnic display at a Gender Reveal party. The audio consists of voicemail clips saved over the previous year.
2. Maladaptive Environments - 2019 - Mixed Media Installation - 13’ x 20.75’ x 24’ - A self-reflective exploration of the experiences of children faced with unstable, traumatic, or abusive domestic environments. This immersive space incorporated sewing, furniture design, wall framing, audio production, lighting, and more. The smell of ashes and vanilla candles lingered in the air.
3. Imitation - 2019 - Performance with walkman, teacups, chair, dress, jewelry box, and shelves - 5’ 2” x 120lbs - Viewers were invited to listen along to an audio track of jumbled screaming on headphones as they watched me engage in repetitive actions, moving against footprints burned into the carpet, and methodically smashing pieces from a series of doll-sized teacups. Afterwards, sweeping up the pieces in my hands and hiding them in a box hidden underneath the bed, before returning to my original place on a chair in the middle of the room, and beginning the actions again. Photography Credit: Kevin Hamberg
4. Imitation (Video Documentation) - 2019 - Performance with handmade and modified elements - 5’ 2” x 118lbs - The objects are modeled after the “ideal” items I sought after as a child. Dollhouse-esque representations of the perfect little girl's bedroom. The audio consists of voicemail clips overlaid with voices locked in a relentless and unintelligible argument.
5. Somnium - 2019 - Handmade bedframe, plaster, deconstructed mattress, and sheets - 54" x 80" x 40" - Somnium aims to visually represent nightmares and night terrors associated with trauma, stress, and abuse experienced in childhood, and the feelings of helplessness, paranoia, and uncertainty that are associated with them.
6. Somnium (detail) - 2019 - Handmade bedframe, plaster, deconstructed mattress, and sheets - 54" x 80" x 40" - A space of safety and comfort that has been uprooted and perturbed by trauma. The split mattress symbolizes a schism, and the gesture of the multi-jointed arms, somewhere in between supporting the mattress and clawing at it, lends a surreal dreamlike quality.
7. Stay Away Good Morning - 2019 - Mixed Media Installation - 13’ x 12’ x 20.75’ - Viewers who entered through the yellow children's door found a cool, dark, atmosphere. The scent of damp grass, the sound of crickets chirping, and the flickering candlelight emanating from the upside down lamps floating throughout the space transport the viewer to a location within my memory.
8. Stay Away Good Morning (Detail) - 2019 - Mixed Media Installation - 13’ x 12’ x 20.75’ - My journal excerpts from childhood are memorialized on the quilt that creates the blanket fort, the quintessential childhood safe haven. Quotes relating to self loathing, abuse, and fear are on the outside of the fort and quotes relating to escapism, creativity, and hope are on the inside.
9. Metamorphosis - 2019 - Performance with handmade and modified elements - 5’ 2” x 118lbs - Metamorphosis aims to visually represent the emotions of struggle, nostalgia, and acceptance associated with personal growth. Throughout the duration of the performance, I scratch and peel layers of “skin” from my body and pin them to a frame in the shape of a winged insect.
10. Remnants of a Metamorphosis - 2019 - Skin imprints, pins, walnut frame - 26" x 26" x 2" - The act of shedding layers of “skin” represents discarding decaying aspects of oneself, personality traits, relationships, anxieties, or other obsolete attributes. Carefully pinning the skin into a new shape signifies self-reflection, acceptance of the past, and a reverence for nostalgia.
11. Sweet Dreams - 2019 - Plaster, silver plated cast bronze, silver plated chain - 8" x 3.25" x 3.5" - Inspired by a recurring nightmare of growing so many teeth that they fill my mouth, causing me to choke.
12. Decimation of a Housewife - 2018 - Plaster, latex, steel, authentically distressed teapot, discarded grocery list on notebook paper - 18" x 22" x 16" - This piece was born from a time in which I attempted to conform to a traditional domestic role of a housewife. This is the outcome of forgetting the kettle on the stove for 3 hours, failing to notice it boil down and catch fire.
13. Decimation of a Housewife (detail) - 2018 - Plaster, latex, steel, authentically distressed teapot, discarded grocery list on notebook paper - 18" x 22" x 16" - The work combines found object, body cast elements, and a welded steel frame, with costume makeup techniques used to create a substance that matched the melted rubber portions of the teapot.
14. Martyr - 2018 - Plaster, wood, foam, string, gold leaf - 8’ x 10’ x 6’ - Martyr was a study of the female form through both an art historical and personal lens as I considered my own relationship with femininity. The dominating thoughts during this reflection were the ways in which the demonization of bodily function is used for suppression and control.
15. Martyr (detail) - 2018 - Plaster, wood, foam, string, gold leaf - 8’ x 10’ x 6’ - Cast body parts reflect the power dynamic represented in the work. Minimal instructions were given to the male models: “ball your hand into a fist as though you are pulling on the cords.” The female model was directed to pose to exact specifications, resulting in a daunting casting process.
16. Release - 2018 - Mahogany, Plaster, Glass, Gold Leaf, Chain - 40” x 12.5” x 11” - A functioning desk-sized guillotine. This ostentatiously overproduced object references the idealization of destructive coping mechanisms.
17. Small Intestines: Male 08/06/1990 - 2017 - Alabaster, wood - 14" x 8" x 4.5" - A portrait of my spouse who had most of their small intestines removed due to complications at birth.
18. Ashen - 2017 - Steel, Paper Clay, Plaster, Watercolor - 22” x 16” x 14” - Inspired by a study of macabre Catholic reliquaries and preserved corpses, ashen is a memoriam to the inner monologue of an estranged friend.
19. Depersonalization (Performance Still) - 2017 - Performance with handmade and modified elements - 5’ 2” x 120lbs - A scene of personal but ultimately futile effort, embodying the mental disorder of the same name. Depersonalization or Derealization disorder is marked by the uneasy feeling of intense disconnection from oneself and one's surroundings.
20. Depersonalization (Performance Still) - 2017 - Performance with handmade and modified elements - 5’ 2” x 120lbs - Throughout the performance I remain completely engrossed in the act of writing, even though my actions leave behind only white ink on white paper, garnering nothing to be read but faint imprints on the pages.