Crafted with delicate hand dyed textiles and mixed media, Birthday Suits delve into the intricate facets of an identity that I did not consciously choose and that culture has appropriated.

These soft sculptures explore the physical, social, and cultural markers that shape who I am, from my gender, the color of my skin & hair, to the circumstances of my birth.

Having never met or seen a photo of a single human who shares my genealogical traits (as I’m adopted), western ideals of gender, beauty & pornography are the closest thing I have to a concept of ancestry & identity.

Using only the forms of spheres and cones, these uninhabited vessels emulate aspects of my phenotypes that western ideals have captured.

Through this simulacrum, I echo back real parts of me, that change with the season and through time, and that I often find simulated in salons, the makeup counter and costume & toy aisles.