PORTFOLIO*
Aftercare is a cinematic objects installation presented at the USC SCA Gallery. Using balloons as fragile substitutes for human faces, the project explores the tension between beauty, artificial perfection, and bodily vulnerability.
Each balloon carries a projected facial expression, transforming a temporary inflatable object into a distorted portrait. Bandages are placed on the balloons to evoke the visual language of cosmetic surgery, recovery, and excessive modification. The faces appear polished, exaggerated, and emotionally unstable, suggesting a body caught between self-construction and self-erasure.
The installation culminates in a live performance in which the balloons are punctured. This final act turns the face into something temporary and breakable. What appears smooth, controlled, and perfected is revealed to be unstable — a surface held together by pressure, projection, and illusion.
Rather than criticizing cosmetic surgery itself, Aftercare reflects on the fragile systems of beauty, performance, and self-image that shape how a face is constructed, displayed, and destroyed.
<----- Date
March 13, 2026
<----- Location
USC SCA Gallery <----- Format
Cinematic Objects Installation