The photographs presented alongside the ceramic installation, Contained, are exploring the two different sides of our body’s barrier. The first image titled, Inward, is depicting the moment in which an outsider is puncturing the barrier. The second image titled, Outward, shows the moment when emotion is being translated by the skin. The images are representing two separate events, whereas Contained is showing both acts at once. The first two images of this series were created at the beginning of the global pandemic in the Spring of 2020. It was a time of insecurity and fear of other human beings.  

These images give the viewer a chance to take an extremely intimate and detailed look at the surface of my own body. They show small moments in which anxiety or tension is taking place on or through the skin. In the most recent rendition, the barbs have changed from a piercing dark tone to a stark white porcelain. I positioned my body in a way that may possibly confuse the viewer as to where these little moments of emotion are living. They seem to be hiding within valleys and landscapes of tendons and bones that give structure to the skin itself. Aside from the distinction between the tone of the barbs, there tends to be a contrast between the two images in tension that is taking place on the skin. In the Image, Inward, there is a large barb piercing into the surface, triggering extreme agitation. This agitation makes the skin wrinkle and look significantly aged versus the smooth and youthful stature of Hidden.

These works were created under pressure of new circumstances that were forced upon me at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. I was limited to materials that were either in my apartment or materials that I was able to quickly grab before leaving my studio. This time was stressful and many people all around the world were afraid of one another. I did not intentionally create work that was directly commenting on the state of the world, but looking back at this work, this clearly had a large impact. Much like what Ann Hamilton was saying about her body object series, I took objects that were once created for a different purpose and gave them life in a new way. I attached ceramic barbs to my own body and documented what I believe looked like something foreign crawling out of the body or being forced in.