Gravity’s Bitches: Animation, Objecthood, and the Technological Gaze

Defense Date

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Sculpture + Extended Media

First Advisor

Lily Cox-Richard, Associate Professor, Department of Sculpture and Extended Media

Second Advisor

Corin Hewitt, Professor, Department of Sculpture and Extended Media

Third Advisor

Massa Lemu, Associate Professor, Department of Sculpture and Extended Media

Fourth Advisor

Cara Benedetto , Associate Professor, Department of Painting + Printmaking

Abstract

Gravity’s Bitches: Animation, Objecthood, and the Technological Gaze examines how sculpture and experimental animation intersect to reveal the politics embedded in contemporary visual technologies. This practice-based research investigates how definitions of “being,” “thing,” or “body” shape structures of power, visibility, and value within systems of technological mediation.

The project centers on the installation Gravity’s Bitches (2026) at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Richmond, alongside the stop-motion film Rotten Sun (2026) and live performance Conversation with a Rotten Sun (2026). Through material processes of casting, melting, and reassembly, the work explores how bodies and objects move between recognition and estrangement, revealing the technological gaze as constructed rather than natural.

Comments

For the Video component, Rotten Sun please follow this link

https://vimeo.com/1182616502/4ff84cf116?fl=ip&fe=ec

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-7-2026

Link to Full Text

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