Biopower
2023, 16 in. x 12 in.
The title of this piece refers to the philosophical concept from Foucault, which is the exertion of power via providing (and therefore withholding) support and preservation of life, rather than threatening harm or death. The collage is inspired by my own history with the medical system, during the course of my transition, my year of illness and doctor's visits culminating in a spinal tap, and the 911 calls and emergency room trips on behalf of myself and loved ones. When the doctor-in-residence put two stitches through my index finger I felt like meat, and when her supervisor put a third one in too tight because he thought he knew better, I felt like an example.
Drowning World
2024, 18 in. x 11 in.
This piece is themed around death and endings. I chose these images to compare death in history and death now. The modern era is unique for giving humans the capacity to methodically, systematically, and impersonally kill one another. Besides warfare and genocide, the global political and economic system cause numerous deaths every year just by their design, without anyone deciding those particular people should die. Every person who dies because they could not afford food or medicine, because they had to sleep outside in the winter, because climate change sent a hurricane through their home, could have been saved. Who does your ghost haunt when you were killed by nobody in particular?
Things That Will Hurt You
2023, 2 in. x 3 in. each
These cards were created in response to an assignment in Design 1. They were an interesting chance to combine analog collage, writing, and digital editing. I also enjoyed the challenge of small format, since my smallest collages prior were on half a letter size page. Each card is a glimpse into a dystopian alternate world inspired by the horrors of our own world. They are not all from the same life, but they follow the chronology of a life, from troubled childhood to tumultuous love affairs to wartime loss and its aftermath.
Read the cards.