27 Clicks
This piece addresses the way in which we perceive memory as stagnant truth. It calls into question where the truth in memory lies by capturing a moment in three unique mediums, Image, Writing and Physicality. During the piece I am bound by zip ties in a specific position on the floor and cannot move. There is a single lamp within the room which can be moved and it serves as the only light source. A photographer takes photos of me on a Kodak Point and Click camera while adjusting their position and the position of the light. They then write a description of each shot and the time it took place on a provided shot list. The piece finishes when the Kodak camera runs out of film, approximately 27 shots. It is then presented in a installation with each medium of recording hung from the wall of trash bags used to block the rooms sole widow.
Untitled (Pigeon Labyrinth)
This piece deals with the paradox between politicians who act with the "morality of their faith" in blatant contradictions to the tenements of that fatih. Specifically, the enaction of anti-LGBTQ+ and "pro life laws" which are done, supposedly, in the name of faith and morality. This performance piece emphasizes the need for vocal activists and the power that we as a collective can wield. The labyrinth is constructed out of anti-pigeon spikes and slices of bread trace the path through the labyrinth. The labyrinth, a tool traditionally used for contemplation, instead embodies a subtle violence which hides behind the abundance of bread. In front of the labyrinth there are a pair of gloves which were used to construct it. Displayed in the traditional manner of receiving communion, they hold the word EAT which is made of frozens pigs blood. This offering stands it contrast with the word DIE, also made of frozen pigs blood, which stands at the center of the maze. Over the duration of several days, the labyrinth of spikes is slowly demolished through the collective effort of the urban wildlife.
Absence of Sacrifice
When Abraham was spared the sacrifice of his son due to the supposed "benevolence" of God, I wondered at the tension that existed at the moment when Abraham committed to the sacrifice. This piece emerged as an investigation of that tension by suspending it in space and time. The piece uses the cardboard square to provide a physical demonstration of that brief moment between choice and action. The discarded cigarette butt, an object traditionally regarded as insignificant, resides within the moment between choice and action. It, as something now profoundly significant and insignificant, highlights the relationship that exists between Abraham and God as well as the one between us and our modern institutions. That tension between God and Abraham, I believe it wasn't from Abraham trying to prove his worth to God. It was a test to see if this was a God whom Abraham could follow. A truly "loving" God would never demand such a sacrifice. This piece challenges you to test institutions that you support in a similar manner as well as remind you that you possess the power to do so.
Fly Before a Purple Hexagon
One day I watched a fly dying on my carpet floor. I could do nothing but be there as a witness or perhaps a friend. It was a beautiful day and you could see the dust motes floating in the sunlight. I stayed till the end.
This piece came to me as I thought of this moment while wandering the cemeteries of Paris. I became fascinated with the tombs where the stained glass had been shattered, morphed from a masterpiece into broken glass. In this broken stained glass, I found a material where the border between life and death became personified. Death cannot be accomplished without the breaking of life but that does not mean it reduces life. Life still holds a beauty and fragility even after it has been broken from a previously uninterrupted flow. Each piece of stained glass was collected from where it had fallen outside the tomb. It was important that nothing was taken from the inside of the tomb and that the stained glass shard was totally severed from the original glasswork. At the conclusion of the piece, the shards were divided equally and returned to the cemeteries. Half were placed in front of a grave of a young boy whose favorite thing in the world was Buzz Lightyear. Half were placed before the joint grave of two young sisters who rested beneath budding orange trees.
Link 1/2
Link ½, the first action in a longer series of actions titled Interlinked, is an action that serves as the first entropic movement of a timeless thought. As more Links attach and act, the formation of a new embodied mind will become more evident. In Link ½, over the course of 16 days, each half of the Link is either in an action of high tension or low tension. Both Links cannot occupy the same state at the same time. At the eighth day mark, there is the transition of each Link to its alternate state. At any point, if either link is unable to maintain a given state, the action would be deemed to be over. Though this iteration of the action is 16 days, that time span is endlessly variable so long as each half of the Link acts in an equal amount of time in high and low tension.
Each Link is composed of imprinted paper used to preserve two floral opposites, floral bouquets and wildflowers. This reduction to an imprint will partially maintain both types of flower's shape and aesthetics but without eithers inherent irreplaceable vitality. Through the collection, compression, and movement of the remaining information about the flower's original vitality, the artist questions whether our good-natured attempts at preservation do as much harm as good.