WHEN YOU SAID YOU HEARD THE BIRDS SING, I THOUGHT I HEARD THEM TOO, BUT IT WAS JUST MY OWN VOICE—HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN MY OWN VOICE SO EASILY? LIKE I HAD NEVER KNOWN IT AT ALL, NOT AT ALL(2025)
Paper and fabric curtain on wall
@Pocoapoco in Oaxaca, MEX
In this large-scale installation the pocoapoco foyer is lined with 10 poems on red and white paper written during the 3 week residency. Available in both English and Spanish, each poem explores various themes such as the liminal existence of a queer & trans body, disidentification with religion, as well as cultural and personal loss as a racially mixed grieving child. Both a celebration and an act of destruction, I invited guests to take a poem from the wall as a parting gift and a means of emotional and literary release. Before entering the courtyard, a 4 meter curtain embellished with phrases from the poems becomes a veil visitors must pass through.
Lastly, a reading performance of 3 poems from the wall accompanied by one secret poem never to be repeated.
Residency facilitated by Meii Soh, Sam Bennett, & Tania Bohórquez
Select photography by Paulina Rubio
