This installation is a play on a liminal space and a cocoon. In the pandemic, I discovered that the back wall of my closet is a walled-in doorway, separating my apartment from my neighbor’s unit. In a gesture to how the space has changed over time and reflecting on how other historic homes in Washington, D.C. were altered, as well as the people who lived there, I created an intimate, transportive piece that invites the eye and mind to wander. The wallpapered closet is exuberant and functional. It celebrates getting dressed, which like the making of this project, is an act of assembling and presenting your Self.
Combining various visual memories into this work was a process of being with myself in the quarantine. My reference points included: Chinoiserie, Mondrian, Wong Kar-Wai, Shirley Jackson, Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space, and camp. I recalled the ceiling design of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, where I spent childhood summers. The layering of experiences, enveloping designs, and materials has kinetic energy. The naked lightbulb overhead gives a red warmth. Painting the wallpaper with decoupage glue gave it texture and a lacquer-like shine. Ribbons articulate the curved back wall like the ribs of a birdcage and outline the shapes that punctuate the room. It is the refuge of a magpie and collector.
