Habituation (2022)
Mixed media installation
Habituation reconstructs a bathroom—tiles, sink, tub, mirror—filled with the kinds of objects you’d expect in a lived-in space, alongside others that feel slightly off. The pink and green color palette initially gives the room a soft, inviting atmosphere, but a closer look reveals a different tone: soap embedded with nails, a mold-stained tub, teeth emerging from the faucet. The familiar becomes uncomfortable.
Bathrooms are private spaces, places where people are at their most unguarded. This installation explores that vulnerability through the lens of a personal relationship shaped by two intersecting struggles—opioid addiction and codependency. Symbols repeat throughout the space: a banner along the walls features poppies, referencing opium, and Venus flytraps, suggesting entrapment or clinging. The televisions document the tension and imbalance of the relationship, marked by cycles of dependence, fear, and care.
The work doesn’t offer resolution but instead aims to show how these dynamics—addiction and attachment—can become entangled. It’s about recognizing when care becomes unsustainable, and how letting go, though difficult, can be a form of respect. Not as an easy fix or clean break, but as a necessary step toward clarity and self-preservation.
