Lately, my research has been materially and conceptually driven by my experiments with clothing seams. While sourcing fabric from used, vintage clothing, I discovered that some garments were sewn by hand. Ripping up the seams felt reckless, so I began to save them instead— cutting around the seams and removing all of the bulk fabric surrounding them. The resulting clothing is bare and exposed as linear lines hang and droop down freely. What is left resembles garments, yet no longer functions as so. 

Despite our constant dependency on clothing, we rarely stop to consider what is holding it all together, its seams. Through the removal or absence of fabric, the structure is made clear. These structures are also the only trace of the labor involved in clothing production. It is no mistake that seams are invisible; in fact, it has become desirable in clothing. However, this concealment of seams ultimately leads to an erasure of the immense amount of work required for its production. Even the functions of seams, to withstand pressure and maintain high integrity, parallel the characteristics of a “good worker.” Therefore, the exposed seams reveal their key role of providing general structure within the garment. 

My initial attempts to display the work were in an installation capacity, but rather than maintain the clothing as whole forms, I focused on how structure and function operate in clothing. Pinning the seams directly onto the walls, as if I were pinning study specimens. It was a study of tension and gravity, pulling on more stretchy fabrics and allowing the decorative, delicate seams to fall and be influenced by gravity or even the wind as people walked by. For a lot of my work, I see connections to my scientific research skills. Working in research collections requires an immense amount of patience and attention to detail. Pinning and mounting insects is an undervalued art. Excavating fossils requires plaster, brushwork, and fine carving—they are akin to sculpture. My work is inherently multidisciplinary, driven by material exploration and my constant interest in the smallest details, which are often overlooked.

Most recently, my research has centered around the material transformation of the seam to create sculptural works in cement. During this exploration, I investigated the function and role of "the seam," and more broadly, joints, in our everyday world. Extending my research to architecture, I began to consider how, like the clothing seam, the mortar joint provides support and connection for a brick wall. Similarly, the mortar is the remaining evidence of the bricklayer's labor, leaving traces of their fingerprints as they finish the mortar by hand. Through mold-making processes, I was able to isolate the mortar and brick, emphasizing the strength of the connective tissues that bind and support the walls that shelter us.