salvaged upholstery and hardware from early 19th-century Hepplewhite chair, found tree stump, salvaged webbing, hand-washed wool
late 19th-century milk stool, salvaged hardware from early 19th-century Hepplewhite chair, copper wire
late 19th-century milk stool, salvaged hardware from early 19th-century Hepplewhite chair, copper wire
found offcut, early 19th-century specimen containers with sewing materials, beaded appliqué
late 19th-century milk stool, salvaged hardware from early 19th-century Hepplewhite chair, copper wire
What happens when two becomes one? When two people come together and decide to spend their lives together, a collection of hand-me-downs, heirlooms, and traditions merge as they take their vow in holy matrimony.
This fluidity of time, families, and generations is what I explore in Two Becomes One. All materials were found and sourced during a major clean-out at Aardvark Antiques, where I was given the opportunity to dig through a pile of objects deemed without value. I couldn’t help but wonder about the lives they had once lived. Why were they bought to begin with? Were the hands that passed them along the first to touch them, or was it a series of chapters that led to their return to circulation? On their own, one might assume they were “waste,” but together, they held the opportunity to tell a much greater story and to dip my toes into speculative narrative-making.
All collage elements, found objects, and ready-made furniture were assembled entirely by hand, using only hand tools. No power tools were used in the making.
Photography by myself and Eldoris Cai