a Safe Space for some

This work explores the brutal shaping process imposed on women, female-bodied people, and especially people of color. It reflects how we are molded, beaten, and forced into ideal forms for someone else’s use—under the guise of becoming “stronger” or “better.” The weapons I created came from defiance, initially made just for the sake of being “pretty.” But over time, their novelty wore off, and I realized they needed to hold the same conceptual weight as they held physically.

Inspired by artists like John Edmonds, Lorna Simpson, and Kerry James Marshall, I explored the experience of being unseen until needed, or wanted. A Safe Space for Some, uses the weapons as surrogates for the cruel shaping process, responding to the invisibility that defines so many marginalized lives. Adorned with bows, ribbons, and other artificial things, the weapons exaggerate femininity to absurdity, critiquing the societal pressure to be pretty and palatable. The accompanying paintings ground the work in a world that embodies both the violence the weapons symbolize and the utopia where they find life. This project reclaims power by blending overwhelming beauty with defiance, creating a space to reflect on visibility, vulnerability, and strength.

multimedia installation, 2024