Portfolio

This work orbits around the idea of sentimentality in various forms. Over the years, I have slowly been growing my own personal archive of sentiment; any paper, receipt, note, tag, sticker, bag, and business card is saved in many boxes. The left and right wings are constructed from those items of sentiment. Starting from the outer edges and making their way in towards the center, breaking the space between Steel Magnolias and Family Stone. The triangle shape of the wings simply manifested in the manner that the ephemera desired. Steel Magnolia framed the upper half of the installation and is a testament and shrine to the strong southern women in my family. People use the term silver spoon to denote wealth and being born into privilege; while I absolutely was born into privilege, this tree rather speaks to the wealth that is the knowledge and life lessons passed down to me by these women. That knowledge and guidance are my wealth; they are my silver spoons and my steel magnolias. Furthermore, resting above the magnolia branch are my nanny’s, my great-grandmother’s, sheets that have been passed from generation to generation in my family. Opposite to the magnolia branch lies Family Stone. This aspect of the installation touches on the sentimentality of my core family: me, my mom, and my dad. With this work, I urge audiences to consider the idea of sentimentality and what that term means to them.

The true meaning of my work, “Seven Years” lies within the combination of lipstick and mirrors. Both lipstick and mirrors delve into a sense of self and identity. Applying lipstick without a mirror is nearly impossible; a perfected lip rarely exists without the aid of a mirror. Lipstick can be seen as an expression of one’s soul and the mirror encases that expression. Lipstick can be used to enhance one’s soul but
also to conceal one’s soul. I enhance my sense of self when I wear lipstick for myself but I conceal my soul if I wear lipstick for any other purpose. In the union between lipstick and mirrors I am aiming to touch on the idea of shining for myself versus shining for others. Mirrors were created to depict the self and in the form I created, I urge people to consider whether or not the image they see in their reflection is true to
their soul.

My junior year of highschool, 2021 I went to Michael’s craft store and bought a bullet journal in hopes of keeping up with to-do lists and whatnot. Little did I know that this small act would become a five year long passion project. I started to utilize the space around my notes, schedules, and to do lists - taping pictures, receipts, wrappers, packagings, post cards and stickers onto the pages. I would use the space to draw,
paint, print, journal my feelings, track my menstrual cycle, and create time capsules for special moments in time. There really was no rhyme or reason for the layouts of the pages; I acted intuitively and did whatever felt correct in that moment.Chaos
journaling became a part of my everyday creative practice and thus with its completion in 2024, my Junior year of college, the book gained relic status in my mind, a true
testament to the life I lived from ages seventeen to twenty-two.

The name and concept of this work originate from
this pivotal experience that occurred on March 11th,
2021 in Arizona. In my teenage years battling mental
illness, I can confidently say that I cried enough to
overflow an above-average-sized bathtub with my
tears. Interestingly, it was the act of allowing a large
tub to overflow that urged me to become proactive
regarding my mental health.
Each container holds a memory frozen in time;
specifically, moments fueled by emotion and teary
eyes. Furthermore, a mixture of jasmine and blue
lotus tea engulfs and drowns the physical images; just
as I in those moments drown in my tears. Each vessel
is accompanied by a label, cataloging the date of the
captured memory. The wet specimen feel of these
items in this collection is done so to emphasize the
act of preserving, bottling, storing, and honoring
these memories and past versions of myself. I aim to
remember these moments with compassion,
acknowledging the tears that could have drowned me
but did not as well as the burnt tongues and wounds
that do heal.

The story goes:
In March 2021, during spring break of my junior
year of high school; my mom and I traveled to
Arizona yearning to see the West.
I was only 17 years old, a month away from
turning 18.
The best way I can describe my state of mind
while on this trip is as if mania and anxiety had
attempted to reproduce and then laid an egg in
my brain; festering and plotting my downward
spiral into chaos. I had never felt more anxious
and out of control in my entire life. I was
convinced something horrible was going to
happen and that there was nothing I could do to
stop it.
I could not relax in any sense of the word.
On one of our very last nights in Sedona, I
decided to run myself a bath in an attempt to
calm myself. I do not remember exactly what
happened between stopping up the tub and the
climax of this story, but the next thing I knew,
there was water coming out from under the
bathroom door.
I had completely overflowed the bathtub.
Flooding the bathroom and part of the hotel
room. With hardwood floors mind you… What I
felt in my body, in my bones, was indescribable.
This was THE crash out of my teen years. Also,
the first time I ever smoked a cigarette.
I unstop the tub and let the water drain, try to
soak up the water that covered the bathroom
floor, and profusely sob. My mom, obviously
concerned for my well-being, was helping out,
steeping a cup of jasmine tea for me to drink.
I ended up letting too much water out of the tub,
but at that point, I did not care. I just sat down in
the barely lukewarm water that did not even
cover my body. I attempted to drink my tea, but it
was too hot, and I burnt my tongue. I sat there,
uncomfortable in almost every possible way, and
the first song that played when I shuffled my
playlist was none other than the song you hear
now, Sea Swallow Me by The Cocteau Twins.

How can art help untangle + understand the complexities of human existence?

This immersive installation stands as a physical manifestation of my perceived human condition and mental landscape. The collection of creations is representative of existence - in the mind, in the body, and in the soul. In focusing on material inquiries and working intuitively, the spirit of the work displays internal turmoil, understanding, acceptance, and peace. Each franken-creation demonstrates an exploration into a feeling, experience, or self-truth, embodying my personal investigation into the intricacies of identity + being. In this ecosystem take time to rest + reflect with intention. Existence can be scary and beautiful simultaneously. Learn to embrace that chaos, don't let it drown you.