Never the Root
2025. Mixed Media.
“Never the Root” is a mixed-media installation that exposes the lived reality of healthcare for women. Drawing from her own medical experiences, personal research, and the stories shared by women around her, Samantha constructs a 3D-printed model of her face serving not as a self-portrait, but as a symbolic stand-in for women as a whole.
Onto this sculptural form, she projection-maps a video generated through Runway AI, Sora, and ChatGPT, visually expressing the discomfort, dismissal, and ongoing uncertainty she encountered while seeking care for her health issues. The face is suspended within a wooden frame to elevate its significance, surrounded by physical bandaids and looping text animations echoes of the temporary “fixes” and ineffective treatments women are routinely offered instead of genuine solutions.
Through “Never the Root,” Samantha confronts how the healthcare system continually treats symptoms while ignoring deeper concerns. She hopes this piece offers women a moment of recognition of feeling seen, validated, and understood—and calls for the systemic change women urgently deserve.
