Our bodies and our homes are deeply connected. Similar in structure, both are carriers of our heart and soul. A home is built by first clearing and preparing the land for construction and then beginning the process of laying a foundation and building a frame. This process is similar to the way the female body sheds its uterine lining in the preparation for growing the foundational cells that one day become a child’s skin and bones. The home is also the deepest symbol of a person’s life, as it is a place that often holds all that is dear to us. However, our homes can also hold our deepest and most gruesome wounds. It is scientifically proven that our bodies hold on to trauma. I believe our homes do as well.
The first tattoo I ever chose to adorn my body was the Buddhist Om symbol with a Lotus flower. This symbol in combination with the Lotus flower represents something strong and beautiful growing out of something terrible and murky. It is a representation of the constant evolution of life and the ability to transmute pain. This has come to be my way of being and my way of making—a constant transmutation of turmoil into beauty. Through this body of work, I explore the stains left on my worldly body, I investigate how my memories and experiences have shaped the home that is my body, and I attempt to remake those memories in a way I now have control over.
(PDF of book and thesis paper available upon request)
Video below documents the show in motion as well as the audio element to the work.
Video of Installation in motion
Map of Installation
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME (Creative Memoir Component), 2024
Hand Made Book
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
GRIT AND GRIME, 2024
Mixed Media Installation
The House of Iron Doors, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Bottom)
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Detail)
The House of Iron Doors, Burnt Light Bulbs, and Bloody Noses, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Curtains and Slot Machines, 2023
Curtain, Belt, Copper Pipe, and Cast Plaster
The House of Curtains and Slot Machines, 2023
Curtain, Belt, Copper Pipe, and Cast Plaster (Detail)
The House of Curtains and Slot Machines, 2023
Curtain, Belt, Copper Pipe, and Cast Plaster (Detail)
The House of Curtains and Slot Machines, 2023
Curtain, Belt, Copper Pipe, and Cast Plaster
The House of Curtains and Slot Machines, 2023
Curtain, Belt, Copper Pipe, and Cast Plaster (Detail)
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Detail)
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Roof)
The House of Dirty Looks, Dirty Names and Psychological Shame, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Rice and Flies, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Detail)
The House of Rice and Flies, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp (Detail)
The House of Highschool Crushes, Overfilled Bathtubs, Fishbowl Cocktails, and Private Conversations, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Highschool Crushes, Overfilled Bathtubs, Fishbowl Cocktails, and Private Conversations, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Highschool Crushes, Overfilled Bathtubs, Fishbowl Cocktails, and Private Conversations, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp
The House of Sexual Mischief, Screams, Hand Shaped Bruises, and Pure Uncontrollable Guilt, 2024
Mixed Media House Lamp