My work explores notions of uniforms and clothing as status symbols. Half of the performance of a task or job begins with the outfit. I use wood and other contemporarily unconventional materials to create my “uniforms”, both as a means to manifest the discomfort of uniforms physically but also to poke fun at the rigidity of societal structures that require said uniforms. The treatment of my wooden surfaces is minimal; all surfaces and edges must be smooth but the form can vary depending on what garment I am mimicking. Humor is an important part of my work; like most Native people, we take very few things seriously. We use humor to speak on difficult topics. James Luna’s approach to his performances heavily informs my own, bridging the gap between the audience’s ability to understand and his intentions as an artist by using himself directly as an object. This can lead to humorous and/or striking interpretations. A comedic lens can take something conceptually lofty down to a digestible level, where intentions aren’t lost by someone who isn’t necessarily artistically well-versed. Cindy Sherman’s quote explains my framework well, “I wanted to create something that people could relate to without having to read a book about it beforehand.” Art’s simplicity doesn’t take away from its artistic merit.