Accessories was a play space for me to conjure the retail experience but in a language of silhouettes rather than an articulated pathway to purchase. The root of the word accessories being “access” is of interest to me, as the purchasing of fashion accessories act as an entry point to the collecting of couture or to the beginning of an affiliation with a specific brand. Designer accessories can be found in most households regardless of family size and income level. They act as class signifiers or subtle nods to the development of one’s personal taste, regardless of one’s personal income.

In the retail context, accessories are often sold in clusters or individually to be added to a collection. Having spent more of my formative years in spaces like Claire’s Boutique rather than art museums, my aesthetic taste was informed largely by plastic packaging and charm bracelets sold in bulk. My attachment to the retail space as a visual artist stems not from ten years of working in retail, but from the development of my consumer identity which was shaped more strategically than that of my cultural and spiritual profiles. Tactics that utilized new technologies were employed to shape me as a consumer at a very young age, and I find myself now embracing that relationship rather than denying its influence.

Accessories is a departure for me from making editions of work, or what I like to refer to as home manufacturing. All of the pieces on display are one-of-a-kind, perhaps prototypes that will eventually inform a series. For now, this work embodies the phrase “retail abstraction” which is how I view the retail industry in the midst of pandemic. Part of me loves watching the conglomerate struggle and part of me is rooting for the retail industry to adapt brilliantly.