Comma Period (, .), 2022, projection, balloons, Arduino, electronics, mirror, cologne, plaster, audio, video: 10 minutes loop, nine balloons: 45.7 cm × 45.7 cm (18 in × 18 in) each, mirror sculpture: 25.4 cm × 25.4 cm × 21.3 cm (10 in × 10 in × 8 ⅜ in), plaster: varies

A scent, a sound, a gesture, a word. Punctuation. My work examines how hegemonic (hetero) masculinity subverts masculine and nonbinary people (and all genders to that extent) to produce barriers and limitations of closeness as ‘acceptable’ forms of masculinity and love. By mixing mediums and installing film-ic sets, not only do I consider how this installation changes the meaning of the space they occupy, but I also want my work to leave the space with each visitor.

Combining the alluring mirrors, fragrances from Calvin Klein and AXE, and tripods construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct the ‘ideal’ man. The jarring sounds of spraying aerosol work to mask identity with acceptable forms of male expression through violence, fragrance, and repressed sorrow. These tripod-mounted cologne devices surveil and appropriate the self, restraining a different non-hegemonic form of masculinity that is inherently queer. To be abnormally masculine is to be queerly masculine. The two cologne-spraying devices guard the projection of myself and my masc-nonbinary friend as we explore intimacy through hugs, kisses, handholds, a 1:1 ratio, and pink and blue gendered lighting. Trapped in a balloon, a box. The gentle, fluid animation of “I love you.” interrupted by jagged satirical words like “Man,” Bro,” and “Dude,” alludes to a restraint of masculine love. A period suggests finality in the declaration. In contrast, a comma could mean a pause, an emphasis, or a physical barrier. To me, “,” is rain. The projected video onto a suspended balloon frame exhibits this malleable masculinity. Balloons are like masculinity: fragile and inflated. So, we can deflate masculinity or pop it. What is left behind? However, I still subconsciously perpetuate its forms, even as a nonbinary person. Thus, my and my friend’s plaster hands are the ultimate act of violence. Because even as we critique, subvert, and challenge the systems of masculinity, we are not free from it and perpetuate masculine norms daily. Hence, I spray the cologne. You spray the cologne.