Maddie McSweeney: Untitled (Jam) pt. 2

In Untitled (Jam) pt. 2, Maddie McSweeney transforms spectatorship into participation. Expanding upon an earlier durational performance, this installation invites visitors to step inside a constructed enclosure and consume jam within the space — shifting the dynamic from watching to being implicated.

The work centers containment, proximity, and the body as sites of tension and connection. Through a simple but visceral act, McSweeney heightens awareness of taste, gesture, vulnerability, and mutual presence. What appears playful or absurd gradually reveals deeper undercurrents: the pressures of observation, the instability of boundaries, and the emotional charge of shared space.

By reversing the gaze and redistributing agency, Untitled (Jam) pt. 2 examines collective intimacy and the subtle dysregulation that emerges when private experience becomes public exchange. The work asks participants not only to witness, but to cross a threshold — to consider how connection forms, where discomfort begins, and how the self exists within a greater whole.

“I enjoy activating simple forms, and I believe it is key to universal empathy. If I can bring people to a more observant and present state, I can cross their emotional boundaries. Then, a connection may be formed.” –Maddie McSweeney

About the Artist:

Maddie McSweeney is a multidisciplinary artist practicing in Northeast Ohio. They received dual BA degrees in Studio Art and Media Studies from the University of Akron (2024). They currently reside in Akron, OH, working as current artist-in-residence at Summit Artspace.

McSweeney most recently performed at the Akron Art Museum for their Midwinter Performance Festival (Akron, OH; 2026), as well as the Love, Sex, and the Body XXX exhibition at The Hildebrandt Building (Cleveland, OH; 2026). They also co-jurored The Groundhog Show (Akron, OH; 2025) and featured their first solo show Moon Belly at KINK Contemporary (Cleveland, OH; 2024). While in their undergraduate program, McSweeney completed their senior Honors research project Simply Butter (one pat at a time) with the Williams Honors College and Myers School of Art, consequently receiving “Best Art Exhibit” at The University of Akron’s BCAS Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creativity (2024). Their work has also been shown at the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (Akron, OH), and Summit Artspace (Akron, OH).