Karen

This body of work utilizes monologue and performative portraiture to explore "Karen" meme culture and object-symbols associated with white femininity. Through theatricality and iteration, this work focuses on spectrums of emotional display (ranging from subtle to grotesque) and moments where the aesthetics of comedy, tragedy, and horror intersect.

This work also establishes a connection between the contemporary usage of the term "Karen" and the protagonist of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale The Red Shoes (also named Karen). It raises questions about female characters in literature and politics who elicit schadenfreude, sympathy, rage, and from an audience. It contemplate ideas of "tantrum", "hysteria", and "melodrama" and the protections they are given within theater, storytelling, and customer service.