Working at the intersection of conceptual inquiry and institutional critique, Colombian-Korean-American artist Gala Porras-Kim examines how cultural establishments—such as museums, archives, and heritage sites—conserve and define our contemporary knowledge and perceptions of history. With the measured sensitivity of an anthropologist, she draws on case studies from contested artifacts, environmental records, and classification systems, positing the museum not as a neutral repository but as a site of (mis)translation and narrative construction. Her research-driven practice often unfolds through long-term collaborations with curators, conservators, archaeologists, and scientists, which culminate in installations, sculptures, and drawings, as well as speculative proposals that probe the limits of preservation and interpretation. Notably, she engages with unconventional matter, like dust, mold, and even human remains, treating them as conscious entities that bear meaning and agency beyond bureaucratic taxonomy. Beyond works like her signature still-life renderings of Korean scholar’s stones, Porras-Kim further challenges the traditionally sterile conditions of institutions through projects such as The motion of an alluvial record (2024), a sensorial installation that immerses visitors within a humid greenhouse containing an open display case of sediments from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula—extending her inquiry into how material, climate, and context shape what we call heritage.