FIGURATIONS
Being a body sure is something
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Being a body sure is something *
mosaics
Following are mosaic-style collages composed of meticulously hand-cut fragments from upcycled coffee table books, evoking the visual language of aerial cartography. These abstracted landscapes function as metaphors for the complex interplay between place, identity, and memory, embodying the tension between fragmentation and cohesion. By repurposing discarded printed matter, the work engages in a dialogue with material history, transforming remnants of the past into reimagined topographies. This process mirrors the act of locating oneself—both spatially and existentially—within an ever-shifting personal and cultural landscape.
I spent my childhood on airplanes looking out windows trying to make sense of the terrain below. Landing in a new country I'd have to decipher new cultures and people, too. I learned humans everywhere are cut from the same mix of stuff no matter where we're from, we're just organized differently. And so, I cut up photos from discarded coffee table books I find at thrift stores and glue new colorful arrangements in a quasi-mosaic style to make beautiful collages made up of disparate elements that unexpectedly harmonize. A wish for unity. Coherence in chaos.
The zillows
During the pandemic, like many, I became obsessed with real estate listings, doom-scrolling through photos of homes for sale, looking for a way out of now.
Finding the perfect house, the perfect room, the best bathroom layout. Thinking all my problems would be solved by living in the confines of those walls. Yes, an open concept kitchen with skylights and cheerful (though neutral enough) tile and think, there, that’s a space where I’d be happy. Forever. Happy forever (as if mono-feeling is possible).
I contemplate the home’s photos and try to understand the logic of the space. How big is that closet really? Where does that door lead? Does this room connect to that room? I can make up any answer I want to. I get to project myself into a domestic fantasy of psychological safety. A calm of previously unknown depth.
