My sculptural reliefs derive from the concepts of human beings as living organism undergoing physical mutation. To emphasize man’s short lifespan and his craving for immortality, I use a metaphor of human skin as a physical barrier in its diverse functions for concepts of life/death or internal/external. I use gauze because of its resemblance in appearance and texture, and its usage to cover wounds to highlight the roles of skin.
My work is emphatically material-based and the compositions and shapes are often determined by the m... Read more
My sculptural reliefs derive from the concepts of human beings as living organism undergoing physical mutation. To emphasize man’s short lifespan and his craving for immortality, I use a metaphor of human skin as a physical barrier in its diverse functions for concepts of life/death or internal/external. I use gauze because of its resemblance in appearance and texture, and its usage to cover wounds to highlight the roles of skin.
My work is emphatically material-based and the compositions and shapes are often determined by the material of the elements I use. For instance, by overlapping gauze of different sizes, the pieces achieve certain shapes and forms, which I manipulate to make composition that best suggest fragility and disintegration. The color is also the result of the materials employed. As the gauze is layered, its accumulated richness emphasizes the gauze’s whiteness, which varies subtly depending on age, amount of gauze used and glue.
I portray the transience of human life, shown in the delicateness of gauze and its faded colors, and imply its brevity. Air circulates between the layers because of their irregular and unusual shapes and the works appear to have an organic quality resulting in a living and breathing object, reinforcing the idea of metamorphosis. An analogy that applies to these pieces is that of fragments of dead skin or cast of different parts of the body as the cast of mummies in their attempt to preserve life.
