I truly do love you (2021)

I truly do love you is a process-based soft sculpture piece that tributes discarded stuffed animals from thrift stores. Initially, I wanted to present the work as a kitsch object full of nostalgia, but a Build-a-Bear with a personalized voice recording (audio file below) changed my perspective entirely. It made me contemplate the story behind the singular stuffed animal; wondering about the giver and the receiver, and how this bear ended up under piles of other plushies. Through a process of deconstructing and stitching each stuffed animal together, I truly do love you acts as a bittersweet goodbye to childhood with lingering elements of loss and bereavement.