“Disconnected Connection” (2024)

In a culture increasingly shaped by numbers—likes, streams, followers, and performance metrics—Disconnected Connection examines how quantification reshapes human connection. Drawing from neuroimaging research in The Developing Brain in the Digital Era, the sculpture translates documented structural and functional changes in adolescent brain regions associated with reward processing, emotional regulation, and impulse control.

Each colored pin corresponds to a specific brain region identified in the study and is positioned anatomically across the sculpted form. Threads trace documented neural connectivity patterns, visualizing the dense reward networks activated by social media engagement. What appears vibrant and interconnected at first glance reveals a more complex reality: stimulation without balance, connection without intimacy.

By transforming neuroimaging data into tactile form, the work bridges scientific research and visual storytelling—inviting viewers to question the metrics that define success and belonging, and to imagine forms of connection beyond measurement.