Every two years I drag myself to an allergist appointment which inevitably follows an unchanging routine. A quick blood draw and a menagerie of tests turns to being stabbed in the back with 40-80 needles filled with extracted allergens to test my reactivity to each. All this ends with the doctor’s declaration that for the 22nd year in a row, I have life threatening anaphylactic allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. 

 

I have always believed that my allergies were the most integral part of myself, and the years of allergist appointments, 504 disability meetings, and hospital visits post reaction have proved to be my most memorable experiences. However, I have also come to appreciate that growing up in an unchanging predominantly white suburb secluded from the real world raised in a mixed race Japanese American / Lebanese Uruguayan household, has also inevitably shaped me. 

 

My upbring and my allergies have engrained an anxious need for escape and a constant search for safety, which consciously or subconsciously has always found its place in my artwork. The worlds I work to embody through my installations and photography, however, more directly reflect the reality of anaphylactic allergies. I live in a constant state of vigilance, always watching, always checking, and always aware of the dangers that lurk.

 

My work uses film and pop culture references to tether themselves to narrative themes. My photography makes use of final girl motifs, oddity shows, and the paranormal to comment on unknown invisible terrors which I am incapable of escaping. My installation work, which mainly consists of large-scale projections and booming soundtracks, uses many of the same references. These pieces work to transport audiences into different landscapes, such as seeing visions of light anomalies in a field, giant masticating beasts through a living room window, and never-ending monster movie build up scene in an imaginary theatre to imbue a sense of impending danger.