About the Art:

Bubblegum Ladder investigates childhood play as a foundation for artistic rigor, material experimentation, and spatial understanding. The work takes the form of a whimsical ladder with bubblegum-like qualities, transforming a familiar utilitarian object into something visually playful but functionally unusable. Constructed from foam, the ladder cannot support weight, while a glass mosaic embedded along its underside further complicates the possibility of physical interaction through its perceived sharpness. Rather than functioning as a tool, the ladder becomes an object for looking, navigating, and reconsidering the space it occupies. 

As a child, I frequently used ladders to build forts, leaning them against walls to support blankets and pillows. In these constructions, the ladder became less a tool for reaching higher surfaces and more a means of creating triangular interior spaces. These experiences also provided an early way for me to understand geometry and structure through physical objects. As someone who is extremely dyslexic, written mathematical equations often felt abstract and difficult to grasp. Mathematical and structural principles became far more accessible when I could encounter them three-dimensionally. A ladder leaning against a wall, supported by the floor, transformed an abstract triangle into a physical space I could enter and understand. This process of play, building, and using tools in unintended ways remains foundational to my artistic practice. 

The work invites viewers to enter the triangular space beneath the ladder to encounter the glass mosaic. Because mosaics are traditionally viewed head-on, locating the mosaic on the underside redirects the viewer’s body and gaze, activating the negative space surrounding the sculpture rather than privileging the object alone. The mosaic also emerges from a practical material necessity. Embedded into the foam, the glass acts as a release between the cast piece and its casting surface. It therefore operates simultaneously as an aesthetic decision, an invitation for bodily participation, and a necessary component of the fabrication process.