mutual realm is a container for my thoughts on speculative futures, present-day-truth-telling, and the everyday construction of histories. Informed by systems of belief and power that humans have created to grapple with the unknown, it illustrates how storytelling builds worlds, assigning value to things by inscribing them with desire. In parts fact and fantasy, sculpture is considered as a form of sorting, highlighting my own experience of living between publics whose methods for demarcating boundaries, communally agreed upon superstitions, and algorithms for assigning meaning have marked my unconscious and affect my everyday trajectories. Here, space exists in myriad forms– as a blueprint, a tool, a dream, or a lived experience.
Installed as a part of the 2025 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition exhibited in The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU. Curated by Misa Jeffereis (Associate Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis), Egbert Vongmalaithong (Assistant Curator, ICA at VCU), and Chase Westfall (Head of Gallery and Exhibitions, VCUarts Qatar), the 2025 exhibition reveals a cross-section of emergent practices that are rooted in collaboration, experimentation, and the urgency to make meaning in an ever-changing world.
sieve
(Detail view)
carved yellow cedar, MDF, glue, screws, joint compound, wire mesh, patch tape, duct tape, latex paint, 65gal rainwater collection barrel, 55gal trailer antifreeze storage container, 5gal paint buckets, 5gal water container, etc.
channel
(Detail view)
carved yellow cedar, MDF, OSB, glue, screws, joint compound, wire mesh, patch tape, duct tape, latex paint, barn cupola, lightning rod, ziploc bags, plastic bags, mulch
celt
(Detail view)
Carved yellow cedar, MDF, OSB, glue, screws, joint compound, wire mesh, patch tape, duct tape, latex paint, cardboard, 150gal reptile tank, vehicular dashboard, steering column, sink bowl, cedar driftwood, graphite powder, argan oil, Valvoline red grease