ANT FARM

SAND, FOUND PLASTIC, SHEET GLASS

This life-size ant farm was installed in the store-front window of CEPA Gallery in downtown Buffalo, New York. It mixes found plastic with sand to create a realistic profile of how plastic is embedded in our landscapes. It begs the question of whether you’d put ants in it willingly.

Letter Blocks deliberately fragment letters across planes and surfaces to distort text. All 24 cubes have a unique set of letters. They resemble letter blocks from childhood and hold a sense of nostalgia for the fundamental years of learning. Built to scale for an adult, each cube is 24” x 24” x 24”. 

Countless studies show dyslexics have increased vergence errors. Vergence errors can occur when the eye is accounting for depth while reading on a 2D surface. By using a 3D form (cube), we can explore distortions caused by vergent angles. This can help visualize what it might be like for a letter to transverse the depth plane.

WASHOUT is a simulation of the washout effect. A visual distortion of text caused by dyslexia. This is when text can appear blurred or indistinct, triggering many dyslexics to guess words instead of reading them. When standing directly in front of the work, the word, “WASHOUT” fades, creating a blindspot. When you move to either side, the word reappears overlaid. Italic lettering and serif fonts can make it harder to read and were deliberately chosen to obscure the text further.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH DETRITUS

MESO & MICROPLASTICS, INSECT DISPLAY PINS

As a dyslexic the alphabet resembles shapes that can feel foreign at times. By replacing text with abstract plastic debris, the work maintains the format of a written letter while distorting our ability to read it. The plastics are found and removed from the environment, unaltered, tagged with their geographic location to maintain the object’s integrity and understand its lasting impact.