(In)/Animate Objects [Burial + Rebirth] at the Pacific Design Center, March 14-30 2025

My installation, (In)/Animate Objects [Burial + Rebirth], will debut at the Pacific Design Center as part of Queering Digital, curated by Steve Galindo and Jamison Edgar. The opening reception will take place on March 14, 2025, from 6–9 PM, with the exhibition running from March 14 to March 30.

While I have exhibited these dolls before, this format foregrounds the process of decay—an unraveling I’ve previously witnessed only in the privacy of my studio. By bringing this breakdown into public view, the work invites audiences to engage with cycles of deterioration and renewal as they unfold in real time. A time-lapse video, captured over the 17-day exhibition, adds another layer, offering an accelerated glimpse into the subtle, continuous shifts that occur as the dolls decompose and change.

(In)/Animate Objects [Burial + Rebirth], 2025

Materials: Dolls J13, J14, J15, J16, J22, J24, J25, J29, K06; dirt, seeds, spores, plant clippings, fabric, thread, mixed media, hand-sewn, time-lapse cameras, 48” x 31” x 24

(In)/Animate Objects is part of a diptych exploring the relational world of my fictional protagonist, Andrea Lowe, an Objectum Sexual who experiences romantic feelings for inanimate objects. Its companion piece, Object of Her Affection, is a solo puppetry performance tracing Andrea’s complex relationships with structures and objects—culminating in her fatal fall from a crumbling tenement she was in love with.

This installation reflects on grief, memory, and cycles of change. In mourning, Andrea’s grandmother amasses thousands of rag dolls, each hand-stitched as a meditation on frailty and impermanence. I embrace imperfection, drawing from the Japanese philosophy of kintsugi, which values breakage and repair as integral to an object’s history. These dolls are subjected to intentional deterioration—buried, burned, stained, even run over—embodying both damage and resilience.

In this iteration, dolls are interred and partially embedded in dirt, surrounded by seeds and spores, with their gradual breakdown captured by time-lapse cameras. The work questions the disposability of objects and relationships in late-stage capitalism, revealing how cycles of use, discard, and renewal echo in our treatment of the natural world and one another.

Through this process, I continue to explore the boundaries of identity, intimacy, and materiality—inviting audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about connection, longing, and what it means to be human in a world increasingly in crisis with objects.

Technical assistance provided by Tim Lagasse, Christine Papalexis, Jenna Caravello

About Queering Digital

Queering Digital is a group exhibition that explores the social and political stakes of digital technology through the lens of queer, trans, and non-binary artists based in Los Angeles. Curated by Steve Galindo and Jamison Edgar, the exhibition examines how digital tools and systems have shaped queer resistance, survival, and liberation.

Featuring artists Jenna Caravello, Amina Cruz, Nat Decker, Marsian De Lellis, Andres Payan Estrada, Edgar Fabián Frías, Vita Kari, Ibuki Kuramochi, Duane Paul, Phil Tarley, Thanos Valentine, Sammie Veeler, Devin Wilson, Kira Xonorika, and Ruby Zarsky, the exhibition presents a range of visual mediums that engage with themes of identity, visibility, and digital migration.

From reflections on the history of queer communication to interventions that challenge contemporary digital landscapes, Queering Digital invites audiences to consider how technology shapes and transforms queer existence across borders and communities.

The Pacific Design Center is a notable multi-use facility serving the design, entertainment, and arts communities. It offers spaces for screenings, exhibitions, lectures, meetings, special events, fashion shows, and receptions. ​