Seventy-nine individual ceramic vessels constitute a moveable grid, numerically matching a recently-updated count of organs in the human body. Built and glazed by hand, each measures one cubic inch and is armored with a dark metallic exterior on five sides. When flipped to the “open” side, a flaming red interior is revealed.

The pieces, intended for interactive play, sit on a rimmed game table with two stools on either side. “Open Close Open” is a title lifted from a poem by Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai in which states of being open, close, and open again, correspond with one’s pre-birth, life, and death. Similarly, the ceramic game pieces can be flipped between open and closed positions, yet offer additional in-betweens when oriented on their side. They may be rearranged in endless configurations: horizontally, vertically, rhythmically, architecturally, competitively, narratively, symmetrically, philosophically, chaotically, comically, generously, and so on. While installed at the Bronx Museum of the Arts from July through October of 2017, three events were scheduled for interactive performances. Performances spanned three to four hours with the duration of individual games varying from player to player (five to forty-five minutes). During this time I invited inquisitive visitors to sit across from me and play, asking them to make the first move and to determine the length of our session.

The game has no rules.