Love once overflowed with tenderness—
multiple bodies intertwined;
complexity woven with joy; 
and shadowed by overwhelmment.
Now the mattress carries only their outlines—
lingering ghosts of intimacy that once filled the space.
Their memory not discarded,
but stored for appreciation in this life and beyond,
marked for care and compassion.
Two souls remain on the mattress,
bound by love and commitment, divided by hurt.

Complex Love; Our Wounded Needs

2025

This installation began as an exploration of abundance in queer polyamorous love—a vision of intimacy as layered, full, and deeply complex. I wanted to celebrate the beauty of multiple connections while also naming the jealousy woven through that abundance.

But as my own relationships changed, the work transformed. The mattress—once imagined as crowded with intertwined bodies—now bears only the spray-painted outlines of figures that once were. Most of the flat, painted canvas forms are placed carefully in a cardboard box, completely covered with labels reading “fragile” and “handle with care.” This box does not mark rejection, but rather continued care for those who are no longer present.

On the mattress remain two figures, representing the ongoing primary relationship. They share the same space yet hold visible distance—a reflection of both enduring connection and the pain of separation.

This piece holds space for contradiction: intimacy and absence, care and loss, love and hurt. It invites viewers to reflect on how relationships change shape, how memory leaves its mark, and how even in endings there can still be tenderness.