Resin, photographed insects printed on Japanese washi papers (Cicindela chinenesis, Cephonodes hylas, Arhopala madytus, Pantala flavescens), Peabody cigar boxes, spirit money (joss paper), string, cotton, glycerin
At the Peabody Museum of Natural History, I created a photographic sculptural installation envisioning a submerged museum case, discovered a century into the future. Within it, insect bodies from southern China rest atop collectors' cigar boxes—once used to transport their specimens home. Using Noah's Ark as an allegory for museum collections, the work examines how preservation practices, through their antilife chemicals and processes, transform into acts of mourning that mirror the displacement inherent to diaspora.