Open Studio: A Phase in Six Years of my Art Education is a true-to-scale reproduction of my graduate studio space, populated by a meticulously constructed life-size, wax self-portrait. Evoking Romantic imagery of the artist in the studio, the uncanniness of the wax figure creates an experience of the type that Mike Kelley has described as “banal [and] emptied of magic.” The figure’s eyes are closed and his gesture is as vulnerable as it is defensive. Almost teetering, but balanced within the space, the work poetically falls apart upon close inspection and reveals a narrative that’s open to interpretation.