Title: W...here are my diplomas
"W...here are my diplomas", is an installation with an interactive performance art piece where I tell a deeply personal story of my journey of applying for a post graduate program in the Netherlands.
I transformed the title from a question to an answer when I isolated the W from the rest of the sentence.
Imagine a large painted 'W', decorated with botanical motifs and gilded accents, stretching across two 5'x5' canvasses bolted together to form a 5'x10' piece.
Behind the W in the horizon I painted a dutch landscape. This landscape includes the city sky line of Amsterdam. The sense of place is crucial since the subject matter of this installation is rooted in my own experience.
I reference with this composition the medieval illuminated manuscripts Reflecting on the tradition of illuminated manuscripts, where such initials guided illiterate people through the text.
The initial letter, W, commands attention and sets the stage for the fragment "here are my diplomas"
By breaking up the title, once a plea for validation- now stands as a proclamation of self worth and resilience.
My "W" symbolises the beginning of a story — one marked by aspiration and ultimately, rejection.
My unsuccessful application for the Ph.D in Studio Art at the university of Leiden in the Netherlands was a pivotal moment of self reflection, prompting me to confront the inherent tension between seeking external validation and recognizing my intrinsic worth as an artist.
In a companion piece I used a highly pixelated digital print of my handwritten text "Where are my diplomas", and meticulously extracted each pixel with a hole punch and fastened them onto grid paper.
Setting aside the pixels extracted from the printed W, I used the pixels from "here is my diploma" for four separate works on paper, framed and exhibited to resemble prized diplomas on a office wall.
A fifth framed piece was made from the the punched remnants. This piece installed central resembles the logo of a university diploma but is crafted from strips of paper with holes. I created this fifth central piece with a graffiti like presence evoking a movement that challenges socially constructed systems and does not seek permission for artistic expression. Graffiti artists prompt reflection on who holds authority in defining human worth.
I pinned the the pixels from the W to the 5'x10' painting. I fastened these gridded W pixels with sewing pins to remain the tentative nature and suggest flexibility in navigating systems.
W...here are my diplomas is a personal record and serves as a catalyst to challenge the societal struggle of determining significance and marginalization.
Title: You Are But A Melody
"You Are But A Melody, is an interactive performative piece that translates people's names into melodies, weaving together the diverse voices of a community. The recorded melodies make up the symphony of people in NorthFork, Ca.
For this project, I invited people to write their names on a paper strip with music bars and hand punch holes along the outlines of their handwriting.This simple method encodes names as holes on a punched paper tape, which can then be played on a barrel organ.
I made an organ with a mechanised 18-note music box that I installed onto a refurbished guitar and placed a microphone inside.
The participants fed the encoded strips through the music box while I digitally recorded the resulting sound.
"You Are But A Melody" is a musical score made of each hand coded name, collectively it navigates the differences in this community.
Together, the projects. "W...here are my diplomas" and "You Are But A Melody" merge an exploration of power differentials, rejection, or not feel supported by others, with a hands on community experience, where distinctions in status temporarily disappear as everyone becomes part of the melody.