Time: Embodied – Project 2: Single to Multiple, Still to Moving
Project 2: Single to Multiple, Still to Moving
Artist statement:
For this project, I chose to address the theme of death, which is a subcategory of life-cycles. Death is one of the most pervasive themes in art. While many artworks celebrate afterlives in heaven or hell, death is most often referenced as a grim reminder of numbered days, and a powerful motivator to live well while you can. While I was thinking of possible ideas for my response or interpretation of death, I came across the work of installation artist Beth Lipman. She believes that glass (the primary material she works with) is the perfect conduit for an exploration of life and death. In an interview with Broward Palm Beach New Times, Lipman explains how “glass has perpetuity, or immortality to it. Even though glass is fragile, it mimics the life cycle. It has a duality to it. It’s fragile and perishable, but also perpetual”. With this in mind, I started to wonder how I could translate the conflicting feelings and emotions that I have while making sense of death into a visual piece.
From the gecko, I knew that I did not want to portray death in a stereotypically solemn or dark manner. Rather, I hoped to highlight that death is not only loss but also provides an opportunity to celebrate life. To do so, I initially believed that manipulating or shaping plasticine clay into different organic forms and documenting these changes through stop motion animation, was the best way of abstracting my personal experience. However, after receiving a helpful critique from my peers, I realized that my interest in patterns and colors would be a more thought-provoking way of exploring death in its many forms. So, I proceeded to make a variety of patterns and colors using a combination of unfamiliar digital and analog materials. The next conundrum, however, involved figuring out how to incorporate my physical body into the piece. I decided to include my hands because hands, in general, are a recurring symbol frequently used in funerals, memorials, among other things. Therefore, they can be representative of both life and death. Many medieval gravestones have the imagery of hands carved into them, with their positioning usually alluding to some greater or deeper meaning. A hand with the index finger pointing up, for example, tends to symbolize the hope of heaven. While a hand with the index finger pointing down could represent God reaching down for the soul and can also represent an untimely, sudden, or unexpected death.
To further challenge myself, I made sure that I created and collated these sequences of pattern, color arrangements and hand gestures with no particular order in mind. As someone who always tries to plan and organize everything in advance, the idea of being spontaneous with this project was nerve-racking. I was so accustomed to creating works that have a clear structure and flow that, after having completed this project, I have become more open to the possibility of creating work that is raw, unfinished and perhaps unresolved.
Link to the “iteration” booklet: