Dog Reads the Pelican Brief by John Grisham in Chemotherapy

Emerson Contemporary Museum, Boston, Massachusetts

This projection-based installation places viewers in the point of view of a dog undergoing chemotherapy, quietly flipping through a copy of The Pelican Brief — a 90s pulp legal thriller by John Grisham. Every page is turned by a pair of puppet paws, captured in hundreds of photographs and animated with precision. A live camera feed casts viewers as voyeurs, peering through a window into the treatment room. EKG monitors within the projected space respond to real-time sound in the gallery, linking the installation to the presence of its audience.

The piece was developed as part of a projection mapping workshop for Boston-based artists, led by Georgie Freedman, who also served as mentor during its creation. Supported by an artist grant, the work blends puppetry, animation, hand drawing, photography, projection, and interactive systems — reflecting on the surreal contradictions of the American healthcare system and who, in our society, is granted dignity at the end of life.

Dog Reads The Pelican Brief by John Grisham in Chemotherapy premiered at Emerson Contemporary, Boston, 2025.

Pictured: Installation view, Dog Reads The Pelican Brief by John Grisham in Chemotherapy, Emerson Contemporary, Boston, 2025