This Cornell box is inspired by David Henry Hwang's and, by reference, inspired by Giacomo Puccini’s . With my work I wanted to unabashedly minimal, and to evoke the temporal and cultural milieu of late 20th century China while recognizing the conflicts of gender and identity which are at play there. 

In my visual research, I was drawn to black and white photographs in which there seems, perhaps paradoxically, to be some thread of discernible color. I love the ways in which masterfully-lit photographs can do this— how they can indicate “gold” or “red” or “bright” without actually saying any of that.

I experimented with this black/white vs. color phenomenon by using a very homogeneous color pallet (mostly black and white), adding a partial mirror the the scene, and choosing to give the viewer the choice to “illuminate” the box if they wish (via a small button on the side of the box.) 

I used card stock, wood, foam core hot glue, spray paint, plexiglass glass, a mirror, and a small battery-powered light.