My artwork is centered around the exploration of intimacy, identity, and connection in the digital age. Employing a range of materials, like ceramic, stone and glass, my work investigate the nuances and complexities of smart phones, social media, modern relationships and communication through a feminine lens.  

I found myself fascinated by the ways in which my generation, known as Gen-Z, has developed an entire lexicon within the digital sphere to convey meaning and minimize miscommunication. Rules, unspoken expectations and subtle nuances for seemingly straightforward interactions are combined with tools like emoticons, memes, humor and slang to facilitate successful interpretation.

Intrigued by this contemporary dynamic, I started building 3 dimensional speech bubble sculptures that reflect current slang and pop culture, bringing these subtle but fundamental components of digital communication beyond the two-dimensional screen and into the physical world. In using specific kinds of slang, I strive to represent the communities and individuals that have been raised in this new technological landscape while also challenging the existing power structures that celebrate certain narratives while dismissing others as unintelligent, trivial or low-brow. 

My speech bubbles adopt the iMessage aesthetic but are built and painted by hand; as such, they imperfect and irregular, disrupting the anticipated uniformity that one would encounter when seeing these speech bubbles via the screen. The physicality of the work challenges the notion of Digital Dualism, or the perceived distinction between one’s offline and online self, with the former being treated as more real than the latter. Digital Dualism can be understood as both a bias and a fallacy, as our digital lives have become an irrefutable component of who we are, determining almost all of the content we consume, occupying a significant portion of our time, and moderating the majority our social interactions. 

While the rate at which technology and communication are developing will likely make both the text and design look and sound dated in the near future, the speech bubbles will retain their significance,  functioning as a sort of time capsule for this present moment. In preserving this fleeting social, technological and cultural moment, I hope to highlight and immortalize to the commonplace interactions that define our relationships and everyday lives, in turn creating and persevering a unique portrait of modern human existence.