Heartbreaks (2025)
Digital print on cotton canvas, beads, pearls.
This installation is part of The Fall of Cyrene, a body of work weaves together two stories: the disappearance of silphium—an ancient, heart-shaped plant used as a contraceptive and aphrodisiac, believed to have inspired the ♡ icon—and the gradual end of a love affair. Here, the loss of a species and the slow unraveling of intimacy become intertwined, drawing out the connections between private heartbreak and colonial extraction, environmental destruction, and the commodification of desire. “Heartbreaks” examines body and territory as sites of value extraction in digital economies, engaging with image-making practices—the exchange of nude selfies—and digital literary form—sexting.