coffee tea or tears is an animated neon sculpture that extends an invitation for social engagement. In everyday life it could be the name of a local coffee shop, though it might not get the business. The familiar “coffee or tea” beverage options are upended by an unexpected third addition to the party—“tears.” With the suggested outcome to conversation being “it all ended in tears”, one might reconsider the invitation. On the other hand, this might just be to a welcome proposition to participate in a cathartic indulgence.

As a visual poem, the structure of the text is designed to draw on repetition. “tears” camouflages itself following tea, “tea” adopts an “r” and is made plural but semantically all is changed. As the animation sequences parsing out each segment one might reflect on the peculiarity of using a medium associated with consumerism to deliver an emotionally laden sentiment. It is this subversion along with the quietly neutral white-on-white aesthetics that moves the piece from signage to art.