The Heart Bears a Blade
2022
Latex paint, gym mirrors, sound

The Heart Bears a Blade attends to the entanglement of violence and tenderness. Made of the Chinese characters 刃 (the edge of a knife or blade) and 心 (heart), the word 忍 (endure, bear, tolerate, restrain) lays open the emotional and physical aches of negotiating the contradictions of American life. In the midst of illness, shootings, police brutality, and hate crimes, we too hold open doors for one another, coo at babies, clap each other on the back, and hug heart-to-heart.

The Heart Bears a Blade draws the tactile and metaphoric qualities of language to the fore by tying mental exertion to physical movement. How can we better sink into the feeling of our substance, which is more than the weight of our bodies? How can we better attend to our entangled pain and joy? How can we be a little bit softer?