Bodies of work.

I construct permeable, body-scaled geometries—rectangles, triangles, cubes, and rhomboids—each precisely sized to my own height, width, and depth dimensions. Sewn from translucent mesh, these sculptural forms function as a “second skin” while defining the temporary boundaries of my body’s singular space. Extending my earlier study of chromosomal structures, the forms are consistently created in pairs. This dual emphasis on duplication and human scale is central to the work, which manifests across sculpture, installation, drawing, and moving image. These geometric pairs can be multiplied into expansive, honeycombed networks—walls, passages, tunnels, rooms, and labyrinths—adapting dynamically to the architectural specificity of each site.

Conceptually, the work addresses what is often chosen to be “unseen,” specifically the late-in-life decades—a period frequently sidelined or spoken of in reductive terms. Recently I have become aware of a more persistent inner dialogue of self-initiated conversation while on the cusp of a new advanced chapter in life. This engagement incorporates the subtle maintenance of continuing bonds through silent conversations with lost loved ones and the necessary re-evaluation of one’s shifting place in the world. My intent is to champion the quiet, personal awareness that defines the experience of aging. Emphasizing presence without permanence, these works create experiential environments that exist, always, for a while.

My intention is for the works to become more aligned with ideas about the body, but more evocative and illusive than earlier. Vertical pieces are built to the enlarged scale of genomic DNA control lanes, maintaining a logical sequence between form and content. Layered and interactive, they sit on the floor, almost like vessels, or lean against the wall. Tall, narrow reflective panels use mirrors to introduce a distorted reflection, isolating the viewer’s image in an attempt to reconcile external appearance with ephemeral light. Materials are selected to emphasize surfaces such as skin and a physical film through layering. The liquid vinyl “skin” is palpably fetishistic, creating a non-gendered seductive element. In the final work of this series, “Five Passages,” a shift occurs and my ideas begin to form about using the dimensions of my own body as a spatial scale for a new work which becomes the series, Notes on Self.

Next, the work’s central focus shifts to heredity and variation, realized through two- and three-dimensional objects. Two-dimensional pieces feature stained chromosomal images on silk and glass, referencing electron microscope scans and blotting studies. Mark-making involves diluted stain, blood, pond algae, or clay to render rows of nearly transparent chromosome strands. These panels are mounted to utilize the shadows cast by the marks as an integral component of the work. As light passes through the silk or glass, the resulting shadows on a backdrop create delicate, fugitive effects that shift with light conditions. While these shadow forms seem immaterial, they introduce a dimension of emerging knowledge about heredity, ancestral traits, variation, and mutations. The orderly vertical patterns occupy a transitional state between microscopic samples and painterly brushstrokes, forming a conceptual international language, akin to musical notation or mathematics.

This microscopic sensibility is translated into a looming, physical, architectural scale in large 3D installations such as Filters, Purifier, and Three Generations. Purifier, which stands nearly nine feet tall, utilizes metallic silks and painted steel to reference chromosomal lanes while functioning as a physical manifestation of filtering and information selection. A singular instance of biological materiality, a silkworm discovered, mummified between the warp and weave of the silver silk during the weaving process and introduced via irregularity into this geometric system. Similarly, Probes organizes gene markings through vertical uprights to juxtapose the perceived certainty of the human genetic code with the sudden uncertainty of global historical events. The theme of heredity is further echoed in body casts which use mirroring forms to directly reference chromosome pairs, emphasizing duplication and replication.