Swaddled together forever in ponder and play,

unite

u n t i e

u n t i e

unite

Nearness inherently holds far-ness, right?

inside

outside

through

as a whole

in its parts

:DNA makes our bodies transparent:

holding

family

memory

theory

United U n t i e d (2010-2016) is the second body of work from my ongoing research project, The Poetics of Twinship. Initially my curiosity was driven by science: its capacity to provide evidence was soothing. My first exploration of this work, Twice Upon A Time (2008-2010), shows my obsessive compulsion to prove the validity of my questions. Although science continues to inform my art, it is no longer my central mode of inquiry. I am less concerned now about proof and more curious about the act of questioning itself. What is it like to be a twin? I unfolded the spaces surrounding Question and Answer by opening my process to countless contributors, my two favorites: chance and synchronicity. Perhaps this is because these two ideas are at the root of all identical twins’ existence: one egg spontaneously split into two.

United U n t i e d documents my attempt to describe twinship. For me, being a twin is often an oscillation between individuality and togetherness on many levels: on the surface of our bodies (the physical), below the surface of our bodies (the genetic) and beyond the surface of our bodies (the psychological, spiritual and philosophical). Over the past six years I collected and created numerous metaphors. They came from various sources: family snapshots, quotes from philosophers and twins, memories, mapping techniques, my body, etcetera. I began this research in my family archive because it contained the first images of my twin and me. Two fundamental facts became evident: being a twin is an inherently visual experience and the question of “Who is who?” is a practical necessity. Seeing double immediately produces a lot of questions.