THEM is an installation art environment that endeavors to encapsulate the artist's experience of transness and how it is interwoven with their experience of being a creative. The room contains an entity interred in a monolithic metal quartz point that serves as both sarcophagus and coccoon. The titular being is an androgynous humanoid sculpture in plaster, features undefined and roughly sculpted, with several of the artist's cast hands visibly digging in and reshaping the material. The abdomen of the sculpture is being pulled open by more hands that reveal a mirrored, golden core with a pulsing, illuminated heartbeat. The figure is only visible when the puzzle (a series of concentric rings with strange glyphs carved into the faces and embedded into the front of the quartz) is solved. The center of the puzzle is a frosted pane that becomes briefly clear, allowing guests to view the creature inside. The glyphs are seen elsewhere in the room, where they are painted on the walls in strands of connected phrases. Hand prints with more glyphs hint at the possibility of translation. Hands are a major motif of the space; above the sarcophagus hangs a large nebulous ring of cast human hands gesturing down at the viewer, a steadily shifting light casting shadows of each hand on the surrounding walls. The rear wall is an irregular honeycomb of textures containing several illuminated alcoves with strange artifacts that echo the being. The central recess has a vertical black screen with trickling pixelated animations that are made up of the room's glyphs; with patience and stillness the screen will eventually transform into a mirror where the viewer can see themself made up of these mysterious glyphs. This reverential space is also filled with a soundscape that breathes and pulses as a strange voice recites unintelligible phrases and faint melodies chime. At odd intervals a rainbow-tiled mirror ball splashes specks of color across the otherwise greyscale room.
THEM Contributors
The credits page is organized by different levels of contribution: Exhibition, Anchor Space or Project.
You’re on a project page within the Dramcorp Anchor Space in the Omega Mart Exhibition.
Creative Leads
- Whitney Lehn Meltz Lead Artist
Creative Contributors
- Aaron Mueller Technical Project Manager
- Anthony Palladino Lead Metal Fabricator
- Charles Nelson Facilities Technician
- David Sam IT Engineer
- Jansen Yoshimura Facilities Manager
- Jonah Richardson Creative Engineer
- Joshua Olds Chief Rigger
- Keith Manning Technical Director
- Kent Caldwell Creative Director Sustainment
- Kevyn Ramirez Exhibition Technology Associate
- Nicholas Burke Lead Technical Fabricator
- Pedro Uribe Creative Engineer
- Rich Stanford Facilities Technician
- Stan Kan IT Engineer
- Yuliana Santos Assistant Facilities Manager






