Gwendolyn’s Grapefruit began in 2018 when I started tattooing collected oral histories onto grapefruits. The name is pulled from one person I interviewed while working on a dramatic writing project with Hour Children, an organization that provides safe housing and vocational training for formerly incarcerated mothers. The practice of oral history interviewing is focused on preservation, making sure stories are not lost. As I tattooed these histories onto grapefruits, and as the citrus molded the stories often would be lost.

Pencillium digitatum is one of the most widely reported pathogens in citrus, causing mold. “The major menace of these pathogens is due to their spores, which appear as fine powder and are airborne...Blue mold is more harmful because it spreads and healthy fruits are directly attacked regardless of injury.” During the performance the tattooed blue ink letters fluctuated in color through the molding process, transitioning from blue to white and back to blue.