Healthscares: Microscopic Monsters was created prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and examines the public health consequences associated with the consumption of carbonated soft drinks. Excessive soda consumption has been linked to rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes, while concerns persist regarding the long-term health effects of artificially sweetened beverages.

By placing these issues under a metaphorical microscope, the work draws attention to broader inequities in healthcare access, nutrition, and public health education in the United States. Over the past two decades, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled. Additionally, approximately 38 percent of American adults are estimated to have prediabetes, many without realizing it.

Prediabetes can often be reversed through dietary and lifestyle modifications. Left unaddressed, however, it may progress to type 2 diabetes, a condition associated with serious complications including vision loss, limb amputation, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and sexual dysfunction.

The title references Artificial Flavors and Colors, a previous solo exhibition in Philadelphia that explored the relationship between nutritional impoverishment and broader forms of moral and cultural bankruptcy. Together, these works examine the ways in which consumer culture, public health, and systemic inequities intersect in contemporary American life.