Glasses are made of air-dry clay and googly eyes. The necklace component is made of pipe cleaners and wooden beads painted in various colors. (Red, Blue, Dark Blue, Green)
The glasses in this work, symbolizing academia, represent humanity’s will to advance itself, juxtaposed with a childlike construction of the piece. The materials for this work were intentionally chosen to be similar to materials found in a child’s arts and crafts project and, as seen in the thickness and unevenness of the frame, were made to mimic if a child had made the piece. The sense of innocence invoked by the method of construction, in combination with the addition of the utilitarian necklace component, seeks to create a statement “made by the children, for the use of the children.” The piece shall be metaphorically gifted to children wanting to pursue academia who are systematically disadvantaged—who subscribe to the idea that academia should be pursued only in its wealthy white contexts. The work is intended to subvert the notion that academia is reserved for a specific demographic while encouraging children of all backgrounds to view academia as it should: the further advancement of humanity—open to all.