Pizza Hu

Digital Film
3:17
2024

The foundation of "Pizza Hu" is audio of my son, Paul, using his NOVA Chat Augmentative and Alternative Communication device in the backseat of our car. Paul is 7 and still working on verbal communication due to a rare genetic deletion that he was born with. He made so many funny and beautiful compositions that it was hard to pick one to work with. “Pizza Hu” really captures his sense of humor and timing. I love the insistence and rhythm of it.

As a mom and an artist, I’m always trying to find the balance between these two parts of my identity. “Pizza Hu” is a mix of studio experiments and home movies. I wanted to make something formal yet intimate, a record of our precarious balance before the elements rearrange themselves into something new.

This piece was included as part of "Light and Shadow," highlighting the creative practices of artists who are also mothers of children with developmental or physical differences. The exhibit focused on creative processes as part of the family dynamic, specifically related to women’s experiences as artist-parents, in the context of a conversation around (dis)ability.

University of New England Art Gallery Biddeford, Maine, May - October 2024.