Exit Wounds is a materialized synthesis of steel sculpture, textile, fine jewelry, and perishables. My installation of these elements seeks to transform space into a charged environment, recalling the energy and emotion of each piece’s conception. Drawing from Adrienne Rich’s essential female tragedy: the loss of the mother to the daughter, this work is a visceral embodiment and reverence of four years of suppressed love and pain—an experience that I have a lifetime ahead of me to endure. Consequently, the objects I create take on a multitude of roles; exploration and expression, memorial and ritual, tribute and testament. 

As an avid practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), my mother emphasized the harmony and interconnectedness of Daoism as a core philosophy in our lives. Central to these fields is the Five Elements theory, in which the Metal element governs the lungs and is associated with grief and sorrow. As vessels perpetually carrying both life and death within, female bodies are familiar with the constant exchange of destruction and recreation. I explore this ongoing existential and biological cycle through the Metal element, reflecting its role in both physical and emotional detoxification.