Lot No. 22

Experimental ink-making

This project began with a stain.

In the days after my mastectomy, before I could bring myself to fully look at my new chest wall, I noticed the antiseptic — vivid washes of rose and rust left behind on my skin. The marks were not quite wound, not quite healing… almost like washes of paint on paper. By re-contextualizing these solutions as art materials, my perspective on this painful time began shifting. I started experimenting with these medicinal solutions in my studio, re-purposing them as inks.

Drugstore visits, once filled with dread and necessity, became quiet acts of gathering — treating the pharmacy like an art supply store. I borrowed syringes and smuggled vials from nurses. I filled jars with glowing liquids that smelled of healing — or the memory of it. What began as a coping mechanism became a daily ritual of mixing, staining, and recording — part science, part sensory healing.

The first in the Soft Tissue series, Lot No. 22 marked the beginning of an ongoing practice shaped by illness and recovery.