Frankenstones

Frankenstones is a strange geology art installation among the houseplants and matcha at The Brown Thumb. Made of paper pulp and synthetic materials such as styrofoam and plastics, Frankenstones is inspired by plastiglomerates, the hybrid stones that form when melted plastic fuses with sand, sediment, and rock. Frankenstones haunt visitors in a visual splendor, inviting them to imagine a future where plastic is unavoidable. The installation considers rock not only as a geological form but as a carrier of time, history, and meaning, and treats each specimen as a point of reflection on how plastic has invaded our lives as we continue to produce waste. Every stone is a small warning about the future we are quietly fossilizing. 

Christopher Blay, an artist, writer, and curator based in Fort Worth, leads the artist team as mentor. His mentee, Aileen Khuu, is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dallas who works primarily with paper pulp. Blay is a contributing writer for Art in America, and his most recent exhibition was on view at Ballroom Marfa in spring 2025. Blay curated The Fire This Time at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in 2025, and his public art sculpture The East Rosedale Monument Project is installed at 920 East Rosedale in Fort Worth. Khuu earned a B.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of North Texas in 2025 and has quickly become an important part of the DFW art community. She recently joined Cohort 6 of The Cedars Union and Cohort 2 of the McDermott Fellows at Dallas Museum of Art, and continues to exhibit across the metroplex as an emerging artist.