Realm Of Reflection, 2021

Scholastic Gold Key Award winner, 2022.

For this project, I was interested in a physical representation of dysfunctional relationships. As someone who has been in toxic or dysfunctional relationships, I felt the need to produce something representative of my experience. In psychology, there’s a concept called “mirroring,” when someone subconsciously mimics a person they perceive to be the leader. This concept is also very prevalent in attachment theory: in early childhood development, children imitate their parents. 

Thus, I came to the idea of mirrors as a medium for my sculpture. The mirrored structure creates an impression of precariousness and fragility, as is common in codependent relationship dynamics. I chose to then project a video on the sculpture. The video’s audio represents one type of toxic cycle in a codependent relationship. In my version of this cycle, an argument happens, and the subsequent apologies follow, but the issues brought up in the conflicts are not resolved. Through these mediums, I hope this installation shines a light on the damaging effects of codependent and toxic relationships as a whole.