2022
Threshold
Wood, light pipes, aluminum, custom electronics, custom software
The sculpture references a traditional Korean Hanok, with its raised curving threshold that carries the symbolic meaning of delineating domestic and public spaces, as well as the male and female quarters within a house, and even life and death. The LED signage embedded in the threshold displays continuously scrolling text from a leaked US government spreadsheet from 2017- 2019 (source: American Bridge), with detailed notes of undocumented pregnant minors in their custody, including how far along they were in their pregnancy and whether they wanted an abortion. This was reportedly used to identify and discourage the minors from having an abortion.
With a seemingly never ending stream of nameless bureaucratic information, the work presents a borderland where women’s reproductive bodies precariously navigate their own uncertain thresholds of life and death, facing the danger of dehumanization, once they’re designated as containers for a future child.
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