untitled (strung), 2024
audio (mp3), paper, re-used plastic bags, metal tubes
this installation confronts the complex and often uncomfortable intersection of bodily trauma, violence, and the limits of empathy. it explores how we, as individuals and as a society, engage with the suffering of others—how we can only witness, never fully know, another's pain. in this space, i invite the viewer to reflect on the inherent limitations of truly understanding someone else’s experience of trauma, particularly the kind that is both bodily and existential. we can only guess at the sensation of pain; what we are privy to is the expression of it, never the depth of its interiority.
the focal point of this piece is blood—an element that carries profound symbolic weight. blood represents life ("life-blood"), yet it is also inseparable from violence and death. i ask: how do we respond to blood? how has our collective response to it shifted in light of ongoing atrocities—be it genocide, personal trauma (such as surgery), or the ever-escalating violence perpetuated by the white cis-hetero patriarchy and its supporters? blood is something we cannot ignore, something that immediately makes us confront the rawness of survival and destruction. yet, how do we truly understand its significance in the face of such overwhelming violence? how does it affect us in a world where bloodshed is so normalized, so ubiquitous?
the word "insides" came to mind as i considered this work. it reflects not only the literal insides of the body—the wounds, the blood, the organs—but also the metaphorical insides: the spaces of our minds and hearts, the places where trauma resides. this installation invites you to enter a space where the threshold between inside and outside becomes porous. what happens when we cross that threshold? are we invited to witness the insides of the body, the psyche, the world? and if so, what does it mean to truly enter such a space, knowing we can never fully inhabit or understand the suffering contained within it?
in creating this installation, i aim to provoke questions about the limits of compassion, the tension between witnessing and truly knowing, and the ways in which trauma—both personal and collective—shapes our relationship to others' pain. it’s a space where the boundaries between inside and outside, life and violence, are fluid and constantly shifting, challenging us to reconsider our role as passive witnesses or active participants in the unfolding of human suffering.