For the Starry-Eyed, For the Healers
Fabric, metal armature, polyfill; w18’ x h16’ x d6’, 2023.
For the Starry-Eyed, For the Healers, is an installation is inspired by the care in accessibility, rest, and ecology. For this piece, I sewed an immersive sculptural ecosystem for participants to interact with through touch and rest, with instructions reading, "Sit on the rock. Listen to the rain. Touch anything with the softness of a bee's foot and the kindness of a ray of light." I sculpted a large plush rock-like sculpture that could comfortably seat multiple people while surrounded by urban plant life, including pokeweed and turkey tail mushrooms.
My recent work is informed by disability justice frameworks and my lived experience navigating ableism while living with a congenital connective tissue disorder and an autoimmune disorder. These frameworks affirm all bodies as whole, complete, and worthy of care, challenging narratives that frame living with a disability as lacking, deficient, and tragic. Bodies aren’t the problem; structural inadequacies that fail to support bodies as they are limit access. Therefore, I am particularly interested in how sculpture can support multiple modes of access and engagement, foregrounding care as both a material and conceptual concern.
Photos Courtesy of Parisa Mah
