In addition to the site-specific painted installation, Haftner presented the first collaborative iteration of her ongoing Material Biases, a series of intuitive sculptural installations that undergo comprehensive chemical analysis only after they are complete. Four Chicago-based artists—Alberto Aguilar, Arnold J. Kemp, Laura Shaeffer, and Lisa Walcott—were invited to select a material “Subject” for each “Object,” which had been made with them in mind.

The resulting collaborations expanded the definition of a material inventory, bringing scientific analysis into dialogue with memory, narrative, care, and uncertainty: a sealed medicine bag described as “stardust,” a childhood toy understood through both memory and chemistry, or a material choice that raises questions of safety and responsibility. Through these exchanges, the project became not only an investigation of matter, but also a conversation about how materials acquire meaning, agency, and value.