Permission to Trespass (2025) is the second case study in Dakota’s ongoing project Tools for Speculative Archaeology (2023–present), which examines the ethical implications of archaeology beyond the mortal realm, with a focus on tomb excavation and the appropriation of unearthed artifacts. Adopting the persona of a speculative archaeologist, the project asks: what if archaeology, at its core, is an act of trespassing into the realm of the dead?

Developed during her residency at GlogauAIR, Berlin, the work shifts from restitution—addressed in the first case study—to the question of access itself. What does it mean to enter tombs, spaces not intended for the living, without invitation? Drawing on an unauthorized field trip to the Eastern Han cliff tombs (yámù) in Leshan, Sichuan, the Open Studio takes the form of a fragmented field log, where notes, drawings, on-site footage, and LiDAR scans transform the artist’s bedroom into a ghostly tomb chamber layered with phantom archives.