Portalis is an installation based on a personal reflection of the relationship that exist between myself and others. The installation attempts to connect the personal to the public through a practice of vulnerability to material. It is through the use of washi’s material vulnerability that I am able to expose my private emotional vulnerability. Exposing my humanity has been a catalyst for meaningful connection, for allowing the viewer to move beyond the physicality of the work and enter the emotional and psychological space that is alluded.

While reflecting on personal experiences that are inseparable from the broad backdrop of world events, I make in attempt to further understand myself through examining the complexities of our current human condition during this age of constant digital connectivity. We are more connected to one another today in a manner never before in human history, yet somehow, many of us are increasingly feeling more disconnected with others and most importantly, ourselves. As a young adult living in the digital age, I yearn for more in life than just an abundance of likes, views, comments and “friends” online. I have been slowly recognizing the darker side of technology and social media, and more importantly, at the cost of human intimacy and connection. 

The installation is primarily void of color other than the different values and opacities of white paper, this allows viewers to focus on the form and emotional impact of the paper objects without much distraction. Handmade washi is utilized to create the various 2 and 3 dimensional paper objects in the installation such as shoji screens, a print, a couch, a collection of mirrors, and a floor lamp. These handmade paper objects act as counterweights to an increasingly mechanized and industrialized society. These handmade paper objects are as much about humanizing the world as they are stand-ins or representative avatars of the subject matter I am seeking to address; the human connection that is so often missing in our modern lives. This is done most obviously by changing the function and reality of those objects, as well as by turning usable utilitarian and domestic objects into useless paper copies of their former selves.

In the fast-paced world we live in today that often reinforces a self that is out of touch personally, spiritually and socially, Portalis presents itself as a place of contemplation and as a doorway to finding value in vulnerability.

Photos by Carson James Photography