I was inspired by the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, as well as how the multi-month-long protests of the BLM movement were met with a passive response from congress. Senators and representatives did not propose legislation for police reform despite the overwhelming public support, nor did they launch a second stimulus as of November 2020. Politically, the feedback mechanism is broken. 

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Through a series of photographs and temporary installations, I address the lack of accessible communication between Americans and their elected representatives. I documented water fountains made safe from spreading the virus by their inaccessibility wrapped in plastic. The sculptural form of the fountains inspired a plastic-wrapped figure. I used plastic and paper airplanes to reinforce the feeling of the unlikelihood that any citizen's concerns would be received in a time so divided. A sheet of plastic hung from a stairwell and I documented paper airplanes being thrown at the barrier, trying to reach the plastic cast figure at the top. There is a deep mistrust for government in the United States; and a lack of engagement is for many - more comfortable than to engage because the situation seems hopeless. The only way to end this is reform through ranked-choice voting and democracy dollars, but for there to be reform people need to be politically activated enough to vote and canvass. Otherwise, they might as well be talking to plastic.