(Re)Defining The Great Line

Through the processes of layering tape, applying and sanding joint compound, and painting the finished surface of the wall, I emphasize the unseen labor of maintaining a seamless gallery wall. Then, by removing the paint, joint compound, and drywall tape layers, I proudly display that process. With this piece, as with most of my work, I constantly think about how underappreciated tasks and people are in the workplace and how immigration status, class, and workplace hierarchy play a huge role.

 (Re)Defining The Great Line (At Yes Project Space), 2024

Painter’s tape, joint compound and tape installed then tore out from gallery wall
8 x 40 ft

Photo courtesy by Mikey Mosher

 (Re)Defining The Great Line (At Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center), 2024

Painter’s tape, joint compound and tape installed then tore out from gallery wall
144.5” x 571.78125”

Photo courtesy by: Bob (RCH Studio) and Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center

Install Support: Ahnali Tran and Milo Callahan Brown

I’m very grateful to have had install support from Ahnali Tran and Milo Callahan Brown during at time I had a broken wrist. As gallery workers themselves, their techniques and experiences created a different iteration of this piece. The crevice left by the removed tapes emphasizes their labor and serves and become proof of them. Otherwise, it would have been concealed by a seamlessly leveled surface, creating a perfect white space.