A solo exhibition that included performance, animation, and mixed media work shown in October 2022 at Kresge Art Center, Michigan State University.
Still from performance piece, JELLO, 2022.
Still from performance piece, JELLO, 2022.
Still from performance piece, JELLO, 2022.
Gurl’s Dream Closet 🌸👚👙😍, 2022 Printed Cotton Stretch Fabric, Satin, Lycra, and Denim
Gurl’s Dream Closet 🌸👚👙😍, 2022 Printed Cotton Stretch Fabric, Satin, Lycra, and Denim
Black Cherry, 2022 from JELLO Still Life Glass and Faux Fur
Strawberry, 2022 from JELLO Still Life Glass and Faux Fur
Berry Blue, 2022 from JELLO Still Life Glass and Faux Fur
JELLO Still Life, 2022. Found Materials and Faux Fur.
Peach Bellini, 2022 Digital Pattern and Found Source Material
Hawaiian Punch, 2022 Digital Animation and Found Source Material
Tama Hair Makeover �🔆�, 2022 Layered Foam Insulation Board, Paper Mache, Acrylic, Satin, and Digital Animation
Tama Hair Makeover �🔆�, 2022 Layered Foam Insulation Board, Paper Mache, Acrylic, Satin, and Digital Animation
Tiger Blood, 2022 Digital Pattern and Found Source Material
Piña Colada, 2022 Digital Animation and Found Source Material
JELLO is kitsch, see-through, fake, fragile, dainty, camp, plastic, cheugy, moldable, and expressive. It knows it’s all of these things. It owns its artificiality and makes it into something not essentialist of its identity, but a complex reading of its expression as it relates to gender. The ownership of said gender performance is more than a defiance of enforced gender norms imposed by a materialistic upbringing— it’s also a reckoning that allows the artist to ask, how much of me is JELLO? How much of me is a gendered, coming-of-age cliché found in Claire’s keychains, pastel beanie babies, and rainbow-colored faux fur? When asked by my mentors why I chose to make this work, I delved into the messy rawness of my performance piece; its meaning seemingly distanced from the artwork in the gallery. The performance piece JELLO dives directly into the vulnerability of being a genderqueer woman while masking behind an idealized version of femininity. It bubbles the insecurities to the surface of the kitsch, not removing one from the other. In a sense, JELLO is also armor. There is resistance and protection in ribbons and glitter. But the performance also begs the question, to what extent is that armor concealing something? Does concealment protect and empower, or is it only implicating internalized oppression?
Hawaiian Punch, 2022 Digital Animation and Found Source Material
Piña Colada, 2022 Digital Animation and Found Source Material