Presentation Board
Final Photos
"I am drowning. The swirl of waters form a mask and drag me down into the deep sea. I am tied to an anchor and sink as it pulls me down into the deep indigo ocean. I would always wake up as the waters started to fill my lungs and suffocated me. I don’t remember the whole context of my dream, but one thing distinctly remains in my head; I am suffocating, I am drowning, I am sinking into a deep deep whole — a whole I could never be saved from."
- from "Lord, Forgive Me" by Ashley -
My Project was based on my partner’s fear of drowning in the deep ocean. However, he did not have a particular reason for his fear. So rather than protecting him from his fear, I decided to give my partner something that could embody his fear in the Studio Project and a reason for his fear in the Seminar writing. I decided to make a mask because, from the MET artifact that my partner chose, there was an Egyptian artifact with mask and also because when I imagined myself drowning, I felt like the waters would turn into millions of strings and choke me to my death. The major inspiration for my final piece was “Dish with dragon and waves”. From this artifact, I designed a pattern inspired by the waves and the overall shape of the mask was inspired by both the waves and the dragon. The individual shapes making up the mask are inspired from the waves, but for the overall shape, I wanted it to in some ways resemble a dragon roaming through the ocean and maybe wrapping the person wearing this mask.
This project was a challenge for me because most of the works I make are 2D. So, it was relatively easier coming up with an idea, but making them 3-dimensional was quite a challenge for me as the prototypes did not turn out as I have expected. Also, the process of choosing the materials and making the mask stay in form was another challenge. I first vaguely thought that papers would be enough to hold the mask, but I wasn’t. I needed wires to make the shapes and then cover them up with papers. Then I tried to make the waves with 80lb papers, but they were too thick so I changed my material to tissue paper. As a result, tissue paper was a fantastic choice because it effectively expressed the lightness in contrast with the heaviness of the wires and expressed the flow of waves. Also, using Citra solve to transfer the patterns I designed assisted in creating the overall ambiance of the mask. To keep the mask attached, after some trials and errors, I finally came up with a solution which was sewing the pieces together. At first, I wanted the stitches to be very neat and clean, but as I was sewing them I had mistakes pocking into the wrong places. Then I realized that the natural flow of sewing made through my mistakes actually feels like the flow of the water.
“Details add definition to the piece”
I wanted the slightest details to contribute to the piece, creating an overall ambiance of drowning.
“It’s like a drawing on the face”
I wanted my piece to feel like my idea sketch. I wanted the mask to feel like they had been made with beautiful and elegant brush strokes.
“Wire in the back could be improved”
I definitely agree with this comment. Not having experiences with 3D models, I didn’t realize the importance of every side in the piece. I simply thought about the important parts, the front, and the sides. Thinking about this now, I think I could have made this better if I had substituted the wires with wires wrapped with white paper, then they would harmonize with the overall piece.
Though during the process there had many ups and downs, I am very satisfied with how I executed my 2D idea into a 3D final piece.
