Sculpture
I return to sculpture again and again to map and materialize ideas. Much of my inspiration and drive as a designer can be found in this work, from personal memories, to my interest in forms of commemoration and the performative nature of bureaucratic processes.
Date of Arrival, 2013, wood and polyester, 48x48in
A meditation on my grandmother’s arrival to the United States and the perceptual transformation of her Japanese folk dance career into a now transplanted cultural practice. The leaning sculpture is made with a shawl from her collection of performance costumes and paneled wood—inspired by memories of the wooden floors of her home, from which she taught younger generations of dancers.
Give Her the Gift That Will Get Her Home Safe, 2012, digital print campaign
An imaginary jewelry brand launches a luxury diamond ring made with a natural snake rattle for women to use, as in nature, to fend off danger. Its accompanying campaign promises a gift with the added luxury of safety.
Give Her the Gift That Will Get Her Home Safe, 2012, silver, snake rattle, cubic zirconia, decorative rocks
Detail of Birth Recorder II, 2013, digital print on card stock, latex, plaster, metal, dimensions variable
Birth Recorder II, 2013, digital print on card stock, latex, plaster, metal
The Birth Recorder series takes the name of Ally Ahearn, a woman whose signature appears on my birth certificate as my Birth Recorder, and presents ways of displaying, honoring, and giving material forms to that role. In Birth Recorder II, printed business cards are offered in a wall display.
Birth Recorder I, 2013, Steel, cement, latex, digital print on velum, 84x96x12in
The Birth Recorder series takes the name of Ally Ahearn, a woman whose signature appears on my birth certificate as my “Birth Recorder,” and presents ways of displaying, honoring, and giving material forms to that role. In “Birth Recorder I” her signature is seared into a sign-like print showing the Mexican-American border, visualizing the implications of my place of birth to my place of origin as a second generation Mexican-American.
Detail of Birth Recorder I, 2013, Steel, cement, latex, digital print on velum, 84x96x12in
"Public Objects," 2013-14. A series commemorating the human wear and tear of an aging city. Glass castings of New York City potholes, clockwise from top left: "Edge of a Manhole," "Intersection," "Manhattan End of the Brooklyn Bridge," "Sidewalk," and "Brooklyn End of the Brooklyn Bridge."
Installation view of "Public Objects," 2014