The initial impetus for this body of work was my experience with a family member’s bipolar state. I wanted to create a contraption (a wearable prosthesis) that would allow someone to experience the physical aspects of a bipolar state, thus allowing another person to “walk in the shoes of another.” This first contraption in 1989 was titled: Mary’s Prothesis, a portion of the Psychophysical Prosthetic Wardrobe.

When I used the contraption in public, I had a revelation that allowed me to see my own disorders (mania and obsessive disorder). I began to explore other family members’ and my own disorders and created contraptions to facilitate the general public's understanding of the physical manifestation of these different
psychological states. Eventually some contraptions were designed to “soothe” the psychological states.

For LaValise, I created wearable contraptions that the owner might use to soothe or understand some physical manifestation. These contraptions are presented in boxes with drawings of the existing Psychophysical Prosthetic Wardrobe and ideas for future contraptions. The actions that occur with my work invite intimate viewing of objects, reading, eating, drinking, hearing, talking, singing, awareness of self and other engagements of the senses. I’ve come to think of the objects that I make as props or scenes to allow interaction and begin a conversation with others.