SHE

Through sculpture, installation, photo and time-based media, Pam Korman explores the construction of identity by tracing the lingering influence, subtle patterns, and weight of maternal inheritance. Beyond both genetics and physiology, “inherited” gestures, tendencies, patterns, and word choices are passed down through repeated exposure and imitation, rather than being taught, echoing those who came before and shaping the selves we inhabit. SHE frames inheritance as an active and ongoing negotiation between generations rather than a single, passive act of receiving. Korman combines repetitive action—ballerina spins, bowl mixing, and back and forth floating motions—with layered and competing text. These overlapping visual elements create a struggle over what is seen, read, remembered, or obscured. Round and round, forward and backward, and side to side, a tension opens between influence and agency, instinct and performance, inheritance and self-determination. Through this friction, Korman reveals the complex and often contradictory ways identity is formed through what is passed down.