I'm Sick of Talking on the Phone, 2021

Video, television, recycled fabric, acrylic paint, cyanotype print, clay blueberries stained with cyanotype, pieces of a plaster hand, white thread, knitted thread, plastic wrap, moth.

 

I’m Sick of Talking on the Phone is a project made in response to my experience in isolation. Repeated lockdowns and enforced distance from loved ones have kept me thinking about longing, fragility, loss, and how much I value instances of platonic intimacy. This work considers touch as threat in the midst of the pandemic, where something as simple as reaching across a table and holding the hand of someone you love becomes a dangerous act. This installation, which includes video, photography, sculpture, and textiles, acts as a space where the viewer is encouraged to interact with the materials, physically handling them, moving around them, or simply affecting the objects with their own physical presence. The clay blueberries are stained blue with cyanotype, progressively rubbing off as the berries are handled. The knitted thread is not always tied off and a slight tug could unravel it. The textiles are carefully suspended from lengths of thread and could come down if handled with too much force. These delicate materials come together to offer an intimate moment to the viewer, inviting them to break down the distance often found between art objects and their viewers.