Wondering and Wandering

Our earliest forms of written language were symbols carved into stone, rearranged to create and transform meaning. This body of work, sparked by my love for memes, reflects my ongoing determination to communicate through images. I’m drawn to the fluidity of meaning, the way nothing can ever be fully captured or fixed, but instead remains open to constant reinterpretation and reinvention through reorganization. I explore how images hold and lose meaning depending on where, how, and by whom they’re discovered. I’m particularly interested in the surprise of finding something unexpected, and how that moment of discovery rewrites the meaning of what came before.

I have taken the concept of excavation and used it as a visual metaphor for my artistic process. Using my recurring motifs of a hole, ladder, and the gem, I break down the writing into three sections. First, the hole, a metaphor for entering an image; second, the ladder, process as investigation; and lastly, the gem, which represents wonder and delight. This work is influenced by childhood fantasies, video games, and believing in magic.

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.