Through the artist-led nonprofit 4Heads, I was awarded an installation-based residency on Governors Island which started on April 26^th and concluded with a weekend exhibition from August 5^th to 7^th . Eight artists were each assigned a room in one of the historic officer’s homes on Colonels Row and I was designated the living room. The first few weeks of my residency revolved around understanding the parameters of working in this space.The homes do not have running water, transportation to and from the island is by ferry, and the house is only accessible during the island’s public hours. From these limitations, I decided that I must be able to transport anyworks created using my bicycle trailer. This limitation kept all materials smaller than 24”w x 48”l, loads under 100 pounds, and designed to be packed as flat as possible. With these limitations in place, my journey began.

In the 18^th and 19^th century the living room was first referred to as “the parlor” and then was later acknowledged as the “death room” in 1918. The parlor was used to welcome guests and entertain them priorto a formal dinner. This room was well-appointed, spacious and the least utilized room in the home. During the Spanish flu, the parlor became known as the death room as funerals and wakes were typically held here. Although there were some published essays regarding abolishing the term parlor before 1918, as the threat of influenza passed, Ladies Home Journal sought to change the stigma of this room and rebranded it as the living room. This room contains a history as a space to welcome, gather, entertain and mourn. The bodies of this room were subject to Othering, posturing, grief, and laughter.

The works in this installation borrow their curvilinear forms from furniture design and a vintage, free- standing punching bag. During the 18th and 19^th century, ornamentation began to be viewed as void of intellectual rigor, a vapid surface for the sensuous and effeminate. In this site of domesticity, my installation references the bodies that continue to fight for their autonomy. Standing as a group, these sculptures arereminiscent of the female anatomy, organs, and punching bags. They are totems representing those who havelost their lives from unsafe abortions and the continued battle to defend reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.

67.5"h x 27"w x 11"d

acrylic paint on canvas, knit fabric, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring

61"h x 26"w x 11"d 

acrylic paint on canvas, elastic, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring 

62"h x 28"w x 11"d 

acrylic paint on canvas, knit fabric, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring

66"h x 32"w x 12"d 

acrylic paint on canvas, elastic, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring 

69"h x 30"w x 15"d 

acrylic paint on canvas, knit fabric, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring

76"h x 32"w x 12"d 

acrylic paint on canvas, knit fabric, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring

73"h x 30"w x 13"d

acrylic paint on canvas, elastic, wood, spray paint and upholstery spring