Frankenmansion and Medicinal Gardens, 2024. Collaboration with Beryl Satter

Three dimensional  photopolymer resin stereolithography print, pills, mouth swabs, bandages, paint

Poor people are routinely surveilled as they engage in activities such as walking or shopping. Meanwhile, the ultra wealthy remain as veiled as the economic activities they engage in. We decided to surveil these plutocrats, and began using publicly available databases such as Google Maps and Regrid to identify locations and owners of particularly flamboyant megamansions — and to reveal the often ugly ways that they made the money to construct them. 

Our research revealed that many of our megamansion owners make their money in “health care.” Commodifying the needs of poor, sick and disabled people, these billionaires and private equity investors run squalid nursing homes or commit medicare fraud and get away with it. Meanwhile, they exploit low-wage labor: nurses and aides report 12+ hour days, leaking pipes in facilities and increasing patient-caregiver ratios.

Frankenmansion and Medicinal Gardens smashes together the architectural elements of mansions owned by four of these medical private equity billionaires. The resulting translucent 3-D printed sculpture reveals the activities of private equity for what they are: a senseless slapping together of life-sustaining entities to generate massive amounts of capital. Our informational guide offers insight into the architectural history of their design choices and the activities that finance these grandiose abodes. The Medicinal Gardens of the Frankenmansion are meticulously cultivated with medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. The leisure and serenity of cultivating gardens is reserved for the wealthy few, but the detritus of their industries will always end up in their backyards. 

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