During my residency at Centrum Foundation in the fall of 2017 I started exploring ideas for a new project called “Empire”. It is based on an Image of the female sex hormone Estrogen, taken under a SEM microscope.
I am using the image to construct a physical immersive space for the audience to be surrounded by. While at Centrum Foundation I created a first 8 x 7ft cardboard and cloth sketch, which allowed me to play with possible components for the piece.
My intention was to try to visualize invisible powers and power structures, which we use both intentional but also involuntarily. I ended up creating a form of shrine or temple gate and incorporated elements of symmetry found in both religious and governmental architecture, signifying masculine power, juxtaposed with the imagery of the female hormone.
I was invited to be the Windgate Fellow for the Spring Semester at Sony Purchase University NY. There I will complete the project in collaboration with the Universities Biology department and Prof. Jan Robert Factor Professor of Biology, Chair of Biology Program. I am very exited about this collaboration and the opportunity to continue working on it.