In her senior thesis project, recent graduate Reese King Paddock (‘26 Art) made a huge statement, and now is being honored with the opportunity to see that work displayed on a scale as large as its message’s impact. Her piece titled PLUGWALK was accepted into the “Art Parade,” where it will be co-presented by the distinguished Jeffrey Deitch gallery in Los Angeles, this summer, to celebrate the opening of the new Geffen galleries at LACMA.

The 11’ x 11’ x 11’ inflatable sculpture (pictured left) depicts an infant figure covered in printed circuit board topography, with red stiletto heels and red lips. The work explores the intersection of technology and contemporary human experience, reflecting what Paddock describes as “Algorithmic Intelligence.”

“I really wanted PLUGWALK to provoke viewers to think about what intelligence and algorithms actually are,” Paddock said. “Many people view AI as truly intelligent and smart, but AI is simply a mass network of complex algorithms. We’ve been calling it intelligence when really it’s pattern recognition at scale. I think that distinction matters, and PLUGWALK is a physical embodiment of that.”

She entered her project as a proposal after Professor Micol Hebron (Art) informed her of the opportunity in last semester’s Video Art class. Within a week of learning about the opportunity, Paddock submitted her project and was accepted within a few days.

“Big thank you to Micol Hebron for being tapped into so many opportunities. Micol had briefly described the parade to me, and I knew I had to submit. The timing was just perfect, and the conceptual alignment was so strong,” she said.

Now PLUGWALK will crawl down the LA skyline in Downtown LA in June, marking Paddock’s debut in a large-scale public show and the chance for PLUGWALK to be seen by many.

“I am so grateful to be part of such a historic, community-driven project and to launch my work, especially PLUGWALK, into the public world at this scale,” Paddock said. “This feels deeply aligned with the direction I have been pushing my practice. It is special that the timing has come together the way it has, and I am excited to see what unfolds from this experience.”