I chose cigar boxes as the foundation for this series because they represent fleeting luxury—containers once meant to hold indulgence, now repurposed to house uncomfortable truths. Inside these ornate shells lie enduring realities: digital dependence, censorship, beauty standards, addiction, and systemic failure.

Inspired by Joseph Cornell’s intimate assemblages, I transform each box into a narrative vessel—miniature stages where contradictions within American life are laid bare. In a culture where consumerism often masks deeper issues, these boxes confront what we often choose to ignore.

Robots, Barbie dolls, baby heads, cracked mirrors—each object functions as part of a symbolic language, inviting personal reflection. Together, they create a microcosm of contemporary America, where the familiar becomes uncanny, and the whimsical becomes heavy. These small-scale works ask viewers to look closer—to sit with discomfort, reckon with contradiction, and question.