Peel & Feel Instant Tears examines what happens when emotion becomes detached from lived experience and transformed into a symbol that can be acquired, applied, displayed, documented, and circulated.

The project was initially inspired by a 2021 incident in which a lifestyle vlogger was filmed coaching her child on how to cry for a video announcing the death of their dog. While the footage prompted public outrage, it also revealed a larger cultural shift in which emotions are increasingly expected to be visible and legible. In a media environment where everyone is a content creator, the appearance of emotion can become as important as the emotion itself.

At the center of the project is a vending machine that dispenses small glass tears inspired by Man Ray’s Glass Tears. Chosen for their immediate association with vulnerability and sincerity, the tears transform a fleeting bodily gesture into a physical object that can be worn repeatedly. The vending machine further frames emotion as something automated and transactional, reflecting a culture in which emotional expression is increasingly capitalized upon.

Participants are invited to wear the tears and document themselves, becoming collaborators in the work. Rather than dictating a specific emotional response, the project allows participants to define the meaning of the tears themselves. While initially conceived around grief, participants have used them to express a range of emotions, revealing that tears may be less a symbol of sadness than a marker of intensity, authenticity, and vulnerability.

Through the ongoing accumulation of images, Peel & Feel Instant Tears examines how emotional symbols circulate through contemporary culture. Repeated across many individuals, distinctions between private experience and public display begin to blur.

Peel & Feel Instant Tears is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.