$2500/sq.ft is a social satire that playfully critiques the destabilization of affordable urban housing brought about by luxury high-rise development. As the footprint of upscale real estate continues to expand, residents are increasingly pushed toward impossibly high-priced living options. In this exaggerated future, even cardboard boxes begin to resemble the next “affordable housing model.”

The project consists of archival inkjet prints and large vinyl banners that echo the commercial signage found at construction sites—those glossy promises of exclusivity, sophistication, and prestige aimed at affluent buyers seeking a curated lifestyle and lucrative investment.

For the interior “box” photographs, I use a wide-angle lens to monumentalize humble cardboard containers, mimicking the visual language of luxury real-estate marketing. The lighting and clean, contemporary color palette evoke the aspirational atmosphere of high-end architectural photography, suggesting that even these makeshift spaces might be staged as desirable habitats.

Recent influences include Josef Albers’ Homage to the Square, whose structural rigor and color dynamics resonate with my exploration of boxed-in spaces. A recent work, Homage to the Square Rental, incorporates multiple square forms reminiscent of Albers—though here, the boxes are engulfed in flames. Titles throughout the series are drawn from real estate magazine headlines, such as those from The New York Times Sunday Magazine, further underscoring the project’s satirical edge.