See our director, Natalie Nguyen’s art installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (MOCA), “WE NEED TO TALK” — an interactive art exhibit that reframes this phrase as a way to remain present and engaged through the difficult work of creating pathways to repair.
Using weather balloons, visitors are encouraged to write down their feelings and thoughts surrounding difficult conversations. Through the daunting phrase, “we need to talk,” this installation showcases what needs to be said. Balloons are often seen as whimsical symbols of birthdays and celebrations, but during wartime, they are also used to gather environmental information before a strike. This exhibit encourages people to have tough conversations — to open up about our sometimes fragile feelings before the balloon bursts.
In addition to the show, Natalie offers a drop-in service for visitors featuring a range of poetic and dialectic services. This extends their examination of communication, care, and meaningful conflict within the installation. Visitors can discuss personal problems, workshop difficult conversations, or commiserate together about the elusive nature of communication. Guests are also encouraged to take a balloon and write their own phrase.
Catch this installation at MOCA April 16- June 28th
Beloved, I have to leave you because you cannot witness me in my truth.
Beloved, I can’t leave you because yours is the love I have longed for.
Elliott Miskovicz (@astickandastone) recently contributed some vocal harmonies and a poem for this immersive art installation. Here’s a peek into their poem: you can read the rest of it on their Substack
the letter X
another argument with an old friend about ukraine.
who knew a war could be such a homewrecker?
this rage, a raw ghost pepper on my tongue.
no amount of salt water from my eyes will
rinse out the burn.
“When you were born
I lay next to you while you slept
I had a waking dream
that we would sail away on a little boat together.
You complete me.”
A call. A text. A whisper. A scream. Anything.
Splinter director, Natalie Brewster Nguyen, is a local Tucson artist, performance artist, writer, educator, activist, and parent. Natalie’s work is often heavily based on erotic and fetishistic imagery and pushes the limits of the capacity of the physical body. Alternatively, they also incorporate their children into much of their work and are interested in employing techniques that invert traditional relationships and reignite our sense of wonder in our surroundings. She seeks to discover ways in which to make parenting a nourishing daily performance practice between herself and her kids.
