Objects hold memories. We save them to remember. But why can't I let go of my giant Beanie Baby collection?!

Philadelphia performance artist Thomas Choinacky humorously assembles ordinary objects and their curious histories. Sitting around a tabletop, a small audience of ten gets an up-close view of the action.

Handheld ephemera from the 1990s come alive: a Beanie Baby collection, VHS of Olympic ice skating routines, Lauryn Hill’s ‘Miseducation’ on a mix tape. These personal artifacts (bought with pocket money) hold peculiar memories and bring up particular questions. What objects and stories are we taught to keep hidden? Today Choinacky’s collections are growing— ancestors’ letters and possessions from the deceased take on new meaning, each archiving a finite moment in time. Leather gear and sex toys join the beanie babies on the table. With this mix of objects, Choinacky reflects on what they’re saving their “allowance” for these days.

“Pure and sublimely ridiculous” -Washington Post

Objects tell stories in multiple ways. They are visual puzzle pieces to a curious life. Are we measured by the objects we can’t let go of? Collections and memories are playfully shared and transformed in this intimate, object theater in which everyone gets a front row seat.