Object Redux

Research Directions

I put materials in consideration of its meaning and function. Using materials to provide a space to contain personal objects portably are mostly practical in bags or pockets. They can also be contained in smaller objects that will be so utterly invisible and unrecognizable that is considered personal and intimate to the user. It provides mysteriousness and security in protecting the precious material contained within.

I make detailed observations wherever I go, and I capture them. This is a habit that I have developed through time shelver I transport from one place to another. Some sights attract me so much that I stop to admire its beauty. I used to get to school, restaurants, and stores mostly by car. I often stared out the window, observing the streets. When I started walking in the streets more often, I felt so much closer to everything I could see. I could now feel the air, noise, and atmosphere surrounding me. I tend to notice tiny details rather than the main points.

Every fashion show consists of models wearing branded clothes walking on a runway. From how the clothes are being presented by the models to the interior design of the site of the fashion show, every aspect will be taken into the account of consideration. Respecting a fashion show as a performance, the stage is the world of the audience and the models are the performer. All clothes should come in a series that leads to a  broader theme, corresponding with the stage design. All details and accessories should be carefully examined to create a stunning fashion show.

Journal Entries

I started collecting all of the plastic bottle caps and tissue paper boxes when I began to live in Paris. I do so to make myself become aware of the waste that I was creating through the use of recyclable products. 

I drank bottled water for the first five months in Paris. After I started drinking tap water, I  noticed a significant decrease in waste production. Perhaps I can create an artwork that documents my habits in the industrialized mass production.

I remember the neon star stickers that shine brightly in the night when I was little. 

This makes me think of making the originally invisible visible in the darkness. Perhaps neon became a sense of security like the neon stickers used in bedrooms, the vibe of the neon lights in bars, or the excitement of shaking neon sticks in concerts. They each have different functions, all coming from the source, neon. 

Hand gestures are a part of the body language. Hands are the most convenient subject to adjust and view as I am drawing. Making hand gestures inspired me to involve hands in drawings to resemble another specific object and be camouflaged within.

Crossing my hands, overlapping them against one another, I created a shape mimicking the form of a bird. Let the wings be strong and big and fly high. Putting my hands together, I found a heart shape enclosed. Let love be penetrated through my hands and spread wide.

I brought a souvenir from an indigenous store at Sun Moon Lake, Taichung, Taiwan. It was a cone-shaped jar with a wooden cap and a thick string attached. I saw a ring that could be opened at its jewel in an inferential TV show. I saw many tiny glass jars containing sand and shells with a key chain attached in tourist attractions in Taiwan.

These objects provided me with the idea of creating accessories that can contain special objects.

These golden Dolce & Gabanna high heels come in the form of a cage. Its elaborate details at its heels really show the careful design of the utmost detail even hat of the shoe. The rose vine is precisely wrapped around the ‘real’ heels that let the shoe stand on the ground.

The Spring-Summer 2014 Chanel Haute Couture was the first fashion show that overwhelmed my perception of fashion runways. Clinging their luggage, models walked across the clean shiny floor of the Chanel airport runway. 

In the following year, my insight was brought up to a new level. Striding along the runway casually with watering kettles, models ‘watered’ the artificial garden in the center stage. I watched in awe as the mechanical flowers bloomed,  bringing life to Spring.

Taking close-up photos of often seen objects is what I capture an ‘illusion’ of that object. A lot of times it may be as simple as the ground that I am stepping on to the trees that I am seeing. 

I took photos of birch trees as I was walking in the 6th arr. They look like “The Unknown Lands” when turned horizontally, created from a series of unpredictable patterns. I took a photo of the water reflection against the tiled floor in front of La Cure Gourmande in the 1st arr, capturing “The Force in the City” that strikes through the tiles.