norMAL and unreMARKable

norMAL and unreMARKable was an exhibition of multi-disciplinary work by Henry G. Sanchez and me, on view at Throughline Collective Gallery in the Midtown District of Houston, Texas, January 9th through February 8th, 2026.

The title norMAL and unreMARKable repurposes a comforting phrase commonly used in medical exam results that report “healthy” findings. We have appropriated the phrase to confront the persistence of technological and chemical solutions that humans have adopted for the maintenance of our daily lives. Considering this dichotomy to be physically and socially precarious, Henry and I both use our own experiences to question how we so often accept unconditionally the accelerating degradation of the environment, our social bonds, and consequentially, our mental and physical health. In this show I work with embroidery and drawing to explore, through the lens of my love for machines, the physical manifestations of environmental toxicity brought on by our dependence on technology. Henry experiments with multimedia installations to consider how his 2017 diagnosis of Stage 4 colon cancer resulted in the halting of his artistic ambitions - simultaneously opening doors for personal vision and expression.

Several programs accompanied the exhibition, including opening and closing receptions; an artist talk moderated by Dr. Weston Twardowski (Dramaturg, Professor and Associate Director of Environmental Studies at Rice University); an experimental music event; and a gallery tour of three exhibitions by current and former Throughline Collective members.