My work centers on disability advocacy and raising public awareness. I work with themes of exclusion and limitation, hoping to educate people about disability and speak about my own experiences as a person with a disability called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
MCS causes severe allergic reactions from small exposures to artificial fragrances. Fragrances are mixtures of several hundred chemicals included in everyday products like perfume, laundry detergents, air fresheners, hair products, scented candles, essential oils, etc.
The FDA does not regulate any of these chemical fragrances because companies claim that fragrances are trade secrets. This allows for known carcinogens, hazardous air pollutants, hormone-interrupters, and teratogens, such as toluene and formaldehyde, to be included in the formulas of everyday products without the knowledge of the general public. Even products marketed as natural contain toxic fragrance ingredients.
Figure in Blue II (perfume allergy), 2019
30 x 30in, oil on canvas
The prevalence of artificial fragrances in society makes it impossible for me to function in crowded places. I have to wear an air filter and mask whenever I travel. Before coronavirus, masks were a symbol of illness and othering. Today, they are an enviable object.
Photo, 2019
Public places like malls and movies theaters are often inaccessible for me because of close quarters, crowds and perfume stores.
Mask II, 2020
Photo of sewn cotton facemask
My ongoing project is sewing facemasks to donate to local healthcare workers, out of scrap fabrics. I am collecting the unused fabric scraps to sew a 6 by 6ft square blanket.
Touchpainting I, 2020, 12 x 16in acrylic on canvas
Touchpainting I close view
Touchpainting I and II exhibition view
Touchpainting II
Touchpainting I, 2019
12x 16in, white acrylic on canvas
Touchpainting II, 2019
12x16in, mixed media on canvas, covered by black box
The Touchpainting series aims to create a more inclusive gallery environment for those with visual impairments and disabilities.
Touchpainting II was made out of canvas, acrylic, plastic, ribbon and crumpled newsprint. The painting was placed under a black box for viewers to reach inside and experience the painting without use of their sight, such as a visually impaired person. The box had braille on the top which read the word 'Window'.
One Step Off My Front Porch, Part of the Relief Photo Series, 2019
As a person with MCS, most public places are difficult for me to experience without the constant anxiety and vigilance it requires to keep myself safe from exposure to other people's perfumes and artificial fragrances. Nature is a safe place for me where I do not have to worry, as the Relief photo series aims to capture.
Image from the Relief Photo Series, 2019
The Complicated Spaces (of Invisible Disabilities), Part of the Blue Room Series, 2019
3 x 4ft, oil on canvas
The Blue Room Paintings depict people with disabilities that defy the traditional stereotyping of disabled bodies in art and culture as sick, deformed or otherwise lesser. Not all disabilities are visible. Ableist biases are issues I think about and want to subvert.