At first glance, the miniature parlor appears composed and refined — red damask walls, striped armchairs, a classical mantel anchoring the room. It suggests a space shaped by taste, order, and permanence.

But the scene is not entirely at rest.

A bust of Venus is wedged inside a suitcase, caught between departure and arrival. Nearby, a fragment of the Athens Parthenon hangs framed on the wall — an object associated with the ongoing debate over the Parthenon Marbles and their presence in the British Museum.

The room brings together collecting and displacement, possession and removal.

It asks: when does a souvenir become something taken?

By staging these tensions within a domestic interior — a space where objects are curated, displayed, and made to feel at home — the work engages questions of cultural heritage, museum collections, and repatriation. It invites reflection on what we choose to keep, what we normalize on our walls, and whose histories we live alongside.

Materials: Dollhouse miniatures, amber, garnet, freshwater pearls, fabric, photographs

Framing: Archival museum glass in a deep gold custom frame by Chevy Chase Art Gallery, Washington, DC.